Seatrade-Maritime: Trump seeks 20% kickback from Hormuz trade

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

In the latest escalation of the US-Iran conflict, US president Donald Trump said the blockade of Iranian ports will begin again, and that the US will seek to be reimbursed 20% of the value of cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz to pay for its security costs.

In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said: “The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.”

The post was characteristically light on details of how the scheme would work, but such an arrangement seems directly at odds with US arguments against Iran in recent months, most notably that US forces are committed to freedom of navigation.

In its 12 July advisory note, under the heading “US Forces Commitment to Freedom of Navigation,” JMIC said: “The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and is not subject to coercion or control by any single nation. Despite Iran’s claims that the Strait is closed, U.S. forces are prepared to maintain freedom of navigation and safeguard lawful commerce in accordance with international law.”

Iran has made preparations to impose a toll on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, proposals that have met strong resistance from the US since the war began on the last day of February.

Iran blockade

In the same post, the president said that the US is reinstating its blockade of Iranian ports, an initiative that was paused after the two nations signed their peace MoU in June.

“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait,” said Trump.

The first US blockade of Iranian ports in this conflict led to a series of US attacks on commercial shipping in June, causing fires onboard as the military sought to disable ships trading into and out of Iran. The attack on products tanker Settebello on 9 June led to the death of three safarers.

While it will remain to be seen what form the projects in Trump’s latest post take, if any, the words come at a time of increased tension as the US and Iran traded attacks earlier on 13 July.

Last week, Iran attacked four vessels using the US-controlled southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, and on 11 July GFS Galaxy was hit off the Omani coast. The attack caused a fire, the crew abandoned ship, and all but one have been subsequently rescued, according to reports. The last seafarer remains missing.