Oman Joins EU-Led Pact Against Tolls in the Strait of Hormuz
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
On October 18, Oman signed a commitment driven by the European Union together with the bloc's 27 member states and 33 other countries, aimed at preserving the integrity of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and opposing the imposition of navigation fees and tolls, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.
Other Signatories and the Scope of the Pact
The agreement, led by the EU, seeks to strengthen multilateral cooperation under the oversight of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and calls for the rejection of coercive or unilateral actions that threaten freedom of navigation. Among the non-EU countries that also joined are the United Kingdom and France over the English Channel, Denmark and Sweden over the Øresund, Singapore over the Strait of Malacca, Canada, the Philippines, Yemen and Japan, as well as Bahrain among the GCC countries.
Tension with Iran and Oman's Own Regulations
Oman's accession carries particular weight in the Gulf, where the Strait of Hormuz is a flashpoint of geopolitical friction. The country had previously issued regulation MTCIT 30/2026, which requires vessels transiting its territorial waters to keep their AIS on and to obtain permits, measures consistent with Article 19 of UNCLOS and designed to cover the costs of maintaining aids to navigation and search and rescue services. These tensions, compounded by Iran's claim to control access to the strait, led to the postponement of a conference scheduled to be held in Salalah on September 14.
Calls to Restore the Traffic Scheme
Most users of the strait are calling for the restoration of the previous Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), although no resolution is in sight for now. The EU-led pact also has repercussions for the Strait of Malacca, where the littoral states face financial pressure to sustain navigation and security services, a topic discussed at the International Conference on the Strait of Malacca held in Kuala Lumpur in early September.
Qatar's Position
Meanwhile, the outlet Trade News headlined its coverage by noting that Qatar says 'no, thank you' to tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, in the context of the Doha Global Security Forum, where Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was interviewed on the forum's stage, and where Russia's foreign minister was also in attendance.
