IMO Reaffirms No Tolls on Hormuz Strait Transit at Its 137th Council SessionA · FULL TRANSLATION
- The IMO Council resolved that Hormuz transit must remain free of tolls and fees under international law
- The resolution also demands freedom of navigation and removal of discriminatory measures
- Japan, a council member since 1958, actively participated in the deliberations
Amid the gunpowder smell of the Iran crisis, the International Maritime Organization handed shipping markets a legal anchor. Its 137th Council session in London adopted a resolution demanding freedom of navigation through international straits and compliance with international law, reaffirming that transit through the Strait of Hormuz must remain free of any tolls or fees. The move targets the market's deepest fear: if strait passage is weaponized or monetized, the cost structure of Middle East crude and LNG transport gets rewritten. Japan, a continuous council member since 1958, engaged fully on an issue that touches its energy lifeline. The resolution's practical force is limited — actors who would blockade a strait rarely defer to international bodies — but it anchors insurance and freight negotiations. Read it alongside the Bab el-Mandeb blockade reports: this is the paper defense line; oil and freight prices are the live thermometer.