Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

The first vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran and the U.S. reached a two-week ceasefire deal, ship-tracking service MarineTraffic said Wednesday.

But more than 12 hours into the ceasefire, overall traffic through the vital waterway has not picked up beyond the slow trickle it has experienced throughout the war, experts and industry professionals say.

And oil tanker traffic through the strait has been halted all together, following an Israeli attack on Lebanon that has shaken the fragile ceasefire, Iranian state news agency Fars said Wednesday morning.

The two vessels identified by MarineTraffic are described as bulk carriers, which carry dry cargo, not oil.

Uncertainty and confusion in the maritime industry remain high, despite Iran’s assurance on Tuesday that vessels will be able to safely navigate the strait during the ceasefire.

That confusion stems in part from Tehran’s caveat that passage through the strait is only possible “via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration to technical limitations.”

The potential for Iran to heavily toll ships is a key sticking point, a marine insurance executive, who did not want to be named on the record, told CNBC.

Iran is planning to demand that shipping firms pay tolls in cryptocurrency to let their oil tankers through the strait, the Financial Times reported Wednesday morning.

Iran will also be inspecting each ship for weapons, the FT reported, citing a spokesperson for Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical products exporters’ union.

In the meantime, shipping companies largely remain in a holding pattern.

“We have no information about how we could transit the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire … We are not in contact with the Iranian authorities,” a shipping executive with ships currently stuck in the Persian Gulf told CNBC.

“The most important for us is the safety of our crew members, and if we were deciding to transit, we need absolute guarantees about the safety of our crewmembers,” the executive said.

U.S. officials, boasting that the ceasefire agreement represents total victory over Iran, insisted Wednesday morning that the path for ships is clear.

“The strait is open,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press briefing. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, asked at the same briefing if the strait is open right now, said, “I believe so, based on the diplomatic negotiation.”

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said in a Truth Social post overnight that the U.S. “will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process,” he wrote. “We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure…