UN Shipping Agency Says There Is 'No Legal Basis' for Trump's Hormuz Toll Plan

Donald Trump's plan to charge vessels a 20 per cent fee for passing through the Strait of Hormuz has been rejected by the United Nations' maritime agency, which said there is no legal basis for imposing tolls on an international waterway.

The pushback came hours after Trump declared on Truth Social that the United States would become 'the guardian of the Hormuz Strait' and would be 'reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped', as hostilities between Washington and Tehran flared again on Monday.

IMO Says Fee Plan Breaches International Law

Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, said the body's position had not shifted despite Trump's announcement. 'We have always been consistent on our stance on fees. IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation,' he said in a statement.

He added there was 'no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait'.

The strait carries around a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports in normal times, making any disruption to the legal principle of free passage a concern for energy markets far beyond the Gulf.

Trump's Own Officials Once Rejected the Idea

The proposal marks a shift from the administration's earlier position. Speaking to reporters in Bahrain on 25 June, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters.

He added that 'the president's made it clear that's not going to happen'. Vice President JD Vance had separately said in June that the strait would remain 'toll free for the long term' under the ceasefire agreement reached following the latest round of US-Iran hostilities.

Iran Rejects Any US Role in Managing the Strait

Iran's joint military command, Khatam al Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Washington would face resistance if it tried to take control of the waterway. 'Any attempt by the US army to arrange transit through the strait outside the paths designated by Tehran and without coordination with Iran's armed forces will be strongly resisted,' it said in a statement.

The exchange followed renewed strikes between the two countries. According to a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guard, it had hit energy facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman and struck fuel depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan. The US military said it had carried out fresh strikes on Iranian sites to 'hold Iranian forces accountable'.

Market and Industry Reaction

Brent crude rose above $80 (approximately £60) a barrel following Trump's announcement. The US Treasury has previously warned that companies paying Iran for passage through the strait would risk breaching sanctions, describing such payments as 'maritime extortion'.

Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth said in May that his company would not pay a fee to Iran for safe passage. 'Freedom of navigation through international waterways is a very well established principle,' he said, warning that any toll could set a precedent affecting other chokepoints, such as the Strait of Malacca in southern Asia.

Traffic through the strait has come to a near standstill, according to shipping tracking data, with no commercial vessels openly transiting overnight on Sunday. However, some may have passed with their transponders switched off.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, straits used for international navigation are subject to the right of transit passage, which prohibits states from imposing tolls. A precedent set here could affect other narrow shipping lanes worldwide and push up energy costs for consumers well beyond the Gulf. The Trump administration has not indicated whether it will proceed with the plan despite the IMO's rejection.