The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is a heavy blow to the deteriorating maritime order

Atlantic Council  |  Elisabeth Braw

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the US–Israeli war on February 28, 2026, by mining the Traffic Separation Scheme and threatening merchant vessels. This unprecedented de facto closure trapped up to 2,000 ships and 20,000 seafarers in the Persian Gulf while triggering 39 maritime security incidents that caused vessel damage and killed at least 12 seafarers.

The maritime block halted critical energy traffic, driving Brent crude oil prices from $68 to $118 per barrel by April 29, while severe fertilizer export reductions threatened agricultural output across developing economies such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and sub-Saharan Africa. Although UNCLOS Article 37 protects transit passage through straits, Tehran justified its actions by citing its non-ratification of UNCLOS and alleging United Nations Charter violations by its adversaries. In response, Iran instituted passage permits, proposed cable levies, and established separate transit lanes during a brief June ceasefire, fundamentally undermining global freedom of navigation norms.

Comment

The unilateral imposition of passage permits and transit levies in narrow waterways directly challenges the foundational compromise of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. By replacing transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz with sovereign administrative controls, a littoral state converts an international shipping corridor into a sovereign toll zone. This operational shift mirrors the pre-1857 Sound Dues framework, establishing a precedent where littoral states exploit geographical chokepoints during active hostilities. Consequently, the legal guarantee of unimpeded maritime passage degrades from codified multilateral law into conditional bilateral tolerance.

Strategic Question for Discussion

If littoral states successfully normalize administrative permits and passage fees within narrow straits, does the transit passage regime under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea remain enforceable, or will maritime trade default to historical tolling arrangements like the Sound Dues?

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