Greek tycoon backs paid passage idea for strategic Hormuz waterway

Greek shipping tycoon Evangelos Marinakis has said he would be willing to pay fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz if it meant keeping the strategically vital waterway open to global shipping, Financial Times reports.

“Even if we had to pay a fee, for me [it would] be much better than to have the straits closed,” said Marinakis, one of Greece’s largest shipowners, at the TradeWinds shipping conference in Athens on Tuesday.

Marinakis, whose Capital Maritime Group controls a fleet of 185 vessels including around 35 tankers, noted that shipowners have already been facing rising costs due to ongoing regional instability. He pointed in particular to the financial burden of rerouting vessels via the Cape of Good Hope amid Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

“For me, it is better to pay a fee of $100,000 or $200,000, depending on the size of the cargo or the size of the vessel, than to have all this hassle,” he said, adding that “all this money can pay for all the damage of what has happened so far.”

His comments contrast with those of other major shipping firms, which have insisted that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved, warning that any paid-access system could set a dangerous precedent for other global maritime chokepoints.

The waterway has effectively faced severe disruption since Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began targeting vessels transiting the strait in response to US-Israeli strikes. In April, Tehran said it would impose fees of up to $2mn per vessel to pass through the strait, equivalent to around $1 per barrel for large oil tankers.

Iran subsequently established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to manage transit fees, though the body has been sanctioned by the United States, leaving shipping companies uncertain over access to the Gulf and the status of vessels caught in the area.

While some vessels have been able to pass under intergovernmental agreements with Tehran or after paying fees, major firms including Chevron and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines have said they would refuse to pay for passage.

Greek shipowner George Prokopiou, whose vessels have continued transiting the strait during the conflict, said on Monday that no party should “impose tolls or any other burden because there are many chokepoints in the world.”

Marinakis also said he is preparing for a potential peace deal, adding that he has positioned vessels strategically at discounted rates to ensure they are only “three or four days’ sailing” from the strait, ready to enter once conditions allow.

By Vafa Guliyeva