Iran Plans $1-Per-Barrel Toll on All Tankers in Strait of Hormuz, to Be Collected in Bitcoin

Iran plans to impose tolls on all tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz during a two-week ceasefire, the Financial Times reported.

Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union, told the FT in an interview published July 8 that Iran wants to collect tolls from every tanker transiting the strait and inspect each vessel individually. Tehran needs to monitor what enters and leaves the waterway during the ceasefire to ensure it is not used to move weapons, he said. All ships will be allowed to pass, though procedures for each vessel will take time.

Tankers seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz must email Iranian authorities with details of their cargo, Hosseini said. Iran also plans to notify each tanker of its toll in cryptocurrency terms.

The fee would be $1 a barrel, according to Hosseini. Once inspections are complete, vessels will have a few seconds to make payment in Bitcoin, he added. The arrangement is intended to prevent funds from being tracked or seized under sanctions.

Specific conditions for passage through the strait will be decided by Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The FT said Hosseini's remarks suggest Iran may require tankers to use the northern shipping lane closer to its coastline, raising questions about whether vessels linked to Western countries or Gulf states would risk making the passage.