Strait of Hormuz fees raise oil market concerns
Commercial vessels remain anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos around Qaboos Port on June 21, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.
Elke Scholiers | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Oman’s reputation for neutrality has earned it the nickname the “Switzerland of the Middle East.”
But the country, which sits to the south of the Strait of Hormuz, is employing a deliberately opaque diplomatic strategy in discussions about tolls for the critical waterway, and markets have a “blind spot” for what could happen next, analysts tell CNBC.
Oman has served as a key intermediary in regional crises and remains one of the few countries trusted by both Tehran and Washington, which is keen to ensure the flow through the strait resumes after it was blocked during the war, triggering a global energy crunch.
Situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, opposite Iran across the strait, Oman has been in joint talks with Iran on a new maritime security order, amid reports that the two countries could push to establish transit fees.
Oman has said that any agreement will comply with international law, although the prospect of a financial system on a waterway that typically handles around 20% of the world’s oil has sparked alarm.
Can Oman charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz?
Analysts told CNBC that Oman’s ability to impose service fees sits within tight legal limits, given that the strait is governed by the principle of transit passage, which does not allow states to charge vessels for passing through. Service fees, however, may be one way to circumvent this.
Markets tend to price disruption risk but pay less attention to governance risk. That creates a blind spot.
Neil Quilliam
Associate fellow at Chatham House
Dania Thafer, executive director of Gulf International Forum, a Washington, D.C. think tank, said Oman’s position on charging fees or a tolling system was likely intentionally unclear.
“You have a regional power, such as Iran, and then you have a global power, the U.S., putting pressure on Oman,” Thafer told CNBC in a phone interview.
“So, they’re trying to use a degree of strategic ambiguity to try to stay out of the conflict as much as possible and not undermine these very strong players.”
Locals visit Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. Several Chinese-owned vessels were reportedly able to transit the Strait of Hormuz today, the day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran would allow 20 ships to cross through the vital waterway.
Elke Scholiers | Getty Images News | Getty Images
If Gulf nations and important international actors greenlit Oman, Thafer said the country would probably move forward with a kind of fee service system in the Strait of Hormuz.
She added that while it would be seen as a political disappointment for fees or tolls to come into force, markets would “respond accordingly” to conditions that once again allow the safe passage of ships.
A spokesperson for Oman’s Foreign Ministry was not available to comment when…