"No Tolls" vs. "Service Fees": When Will the Strait of Hormuz Normalize?

[Anchor]

The previous memorandum of understanding includes the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, with the U.S. insisting there will be no tolls and Iran maintaining that it will collect service fees, it appears it will take time to return to the free navigation status seen before the war.

Yu Deok-gi reports.

[Reporter]

U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that as soon as the memorandum of understanding is signed, the Strait of Hormuz will be fully opened without tolls, and the U.S. Navy's maritime blockade against Iran will be lifted simultaneously.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President (June 11, local time) : (Will you lift the blockade immediately once the agreement is signed?) Yes, that is correct. That is part of the agreement.]

However, while Iran has agreed to remove mines and open the strait within 30 days, it remains firm in its position to collect service fees from vessels under the pretext of safety management, instead of the tolls that the U.S. has opposed.

[Abbas Araghchi / Iranian Foreign Minister (June 12, local time) : The Strait of Hormuz must be managed differently than in the past. A joint program (with Oman) will be announced.]

President Trump is also only emphasizing that there will be no tolls, raising the possibility that completely free passage may not be achieved.

It is also expected to take at least six months to clear the mines installed by Iran.

Even if ships move through the safe routes proposed by Iran to avoid the mines, bottlenecks are inevitable as more than 500 large vessels currently trapped inside the strait attempt to exit.

The Strait of Hormuz, which used to handle an average of 130 ships per day and accounted for about 25% of the world's oil and natural gas traffic, has seen its daily traffic plummet to an average of five ships since the war. Even if future negotiations proceed smoothly, it is inevitable that a considerable amount of time will be needed to return to pre-war levels of normalization.

Above all, if Iran, having realized the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz during this war, uses it as leverage in future negotiations, the safety of the strait could be shaken at any time.

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: Lee Jun-ho, Choi Jae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.