Strait of Hormuz fees raise oil market concerns
Merchant ships are anchored off Sultan Qaboos Port around Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman, on June 21, 2026.
Elke Scholiers | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Oman’s reputation for neutrality has earned it the nickname “Switzerland of the Middle East”.
But the country, located south of the Strait of Hormuz, has employed a deliberately opaque diplomatic strategy in disputes over critical waterway tolls, leaving markets with a “blind spot” on what might happen next, analysts told CNBC.
Oman has served as an important intermediary in regional crises and remains one of the few countries that both Tehran and Washington trust. Washington wants to ensure flows through the strait that were blocked during the war triggered a global energy crisis.
Oman, located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula across the strait from Iran, is in joint talks with Iran on a new maritime security order. reports He said that the two countries could press for the determination of transit fees.
Oman has said any deal would comply with international law, but the prospect of establishing a financial system on a waterway that processes about 20% of the world’s oil has raised alarm.
Can Oman charge in the Strait of Hormuz?
Analysts told CNBC that Oman’s ability to impose service fees is within strict legal limits, given that the strait is subject to the principle of transit, which does not allow states to charge ships for transit. But service fees may be a way around this.
Markets tend to focus on price disruption risk but pay less attention to governance risk. This creates a blind spot.
Neil Quilliam
Associate researcher at Chatham House
Dania Thafer, managing director of the Gulf International Forum, a think tank in Washington, D.C., said Oman’s stance on pricing or its compensation system is likely deliberately vague.
“You have a regional power like Iran, and then you have the United States, which is a global power putting pressure on Oman,” Thafer told CNBC in a phone interview.
“So they’re trying to use a degree of strategic ambiguity to stay as far out of the conflict as possible and not weaken these very powerful players.”
Locals visit Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz in Muscat, Oman, on March 30, 2026. It was reported that many Chinese ships were able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz today, a day after US President Donald Trump said Iran would allow 20 ships to pass through the vital waterway.
Elke Scholiers | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Thafer said that if Gulf countries and major international actors give Oman the green light, the country could possibly move forward with some type of paid service system in the Strait of Hormuz.
He added that although the introduction of fees or tolls would be seen as a political disappointment, markets would “react accordingly” to conditions that would once again allow safe passage for ships.
A spokesperson for Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unavailable for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Oman’s position between Iran and Washington
The United States has strongly opposed any toll on the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump’s administration previously said “aggressively“Sanction Oman if it is thought to have helped Iran set up a pricing system.
“All nations should unequivocally reject any effort by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. in question In a post published on X on May 28.
According to the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran on June 17, Tehran will not be able to impose tolls on ships during the 60-day negotiations to find a permanent solution.
But Iran is focused on the possibility of international recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported Two senior Iranian sources were quoted as saying on Wednesday. This includes the authority to charge fees to ships entering or leaving the Gulf, the report said.
Andrew Leber, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Program, said Oman’s reputation as a mediator is “increasingly caught” between Tehran’s demands for some kind of toll on the strait and U.S. demands that it not happen.
“As a result, we have seen Omani diplomats vacillate between insisting that no toll will be charged and suggesting that ships may be asked to pay a fee that would be called something other than a toll,” Leber told CNBC via email.
This aerial photo shows a view of the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat on February 4, 2026.
Haitham Al-shukairi | Afp | Getty Images
Leber said the challenge Oman faces means its geography has a direct stake in what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz. He added that the country has security reasons and financial interests to go along with Iran’s plan or demand some kind of fee, provided Oman also cuts it.
“It is highly likely that Oman will continue to sign some form of a service fee plan for Iran until it comes into direct conflict with its Arab neighbors or the United States, or will make a more lenient modification of the plan,” Leber said.
The ‘blind spot’ of oil markets
The combination of geography and diplomacy gives Oman influence over the rules, procedures and future regulations governing the Strait of Hormuz, said Neil Quilliam, an expert on energy policy, geopolitics and foreign affairs at Chatham House who focuses on the Middle East and North Africa.
“Markets tend to price in disruption risk but pay less attention to governance risk. This creates a blind spot,” Quilliam told CNBC via email.
“Changes in the way the strait is managed, even if gradual and negotiated, could alter costs, compliance requirements and insurance dynamics without a dramatic safety incident,” he added.
