Oman has drafted a proposal to manage the Strait of Hormuz, said, as reported by CNN, quoting an anonymous source with knowledge of the talks. Under the agreement, both the corridor, Omani and Iranian, located in the territorial waters of both nations, will remain open. The Omani corridor will allow for shipping without any navigation fee as per the pre-war conditions. However, vessels transiting through the Northern corridor will have to coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Force, but it will also remian toll free.
A central point of contention in the negotiations involves transit fees. The specific two-route proposal explicitly stipulates that no tolls would be charged on either corridor. According to a report by the Guardian, the European governments are examining the potential of a voluntary navigation fee as a long-term solution to tensions over one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes following months of conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel.
Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy warned that mandatory charges for passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be “disastrous.” However, some members of the UK government claim that fees for navigation-related services are already accepted in the English Channel and the Strait of Malacca.
According to Axios, on July 10, the Trump Administration demanded that Iran publicly acknowledge that the Strait of Hormuz is open as a 24-hour ultimatum. It warned that “there will be harsh consequences”. The US-led Joint Maritime Information Centre said, however, that the “southern route” remains open. Iran completely ignored the ultimatum, choosing instead to escalate hostilities on the ground. It targeted a Cyprus-flagged vessel, GFS Galaxy, which was attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through the Omani corridor, bypassing the IRGC warning. It came under severe attack, 10 out of the 11 Indian crewing the vessel were rescued, while one remained missing. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards declared the Strait of Hormuz “closed until further notice” and until “interference by the US ceases.”