Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
More than 60 countries have joined forces to oppose tolls and fees on ships passing through international waterways, sending a clear message against Iran’s attempts to charge vessels for using some of the world’s most important maritime routes. The declaration, announced by the European Union on Monday, comes amid disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has asserted control over shipping movements and demanded that international vessels should pay for access.
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The pledge, backed by all European Union member states and 33 other countries, including Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore, seeks to protect freedom of navigation under international law. It also warns against measures that could restrict the movement of commercial ships through straits used for international navigation.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the initiative, saying countries must oppose attempts to turn international shipping routes into sources of revenue or political leverage.
“International navigation must remain open to everyone, not to whoever can pay. Today, 60 countries pledged to oppose tolls or fees on international shipping routes by joining our “No Fees, No Tolls” global pledge,” Kallas wrote on X.
“This is a clear diplomatic signal to all those who seek to hijack waterways for their own gain. I want to thank all the countries who signed up and invite others to join us.”
WHY THE DECLARATION IS IMPORTANT
International straits are narrow stretches of water connecting larger seas and oceans. They are essential to global trade because ships use them to transport oil, natural gas, food and other goods between countries.
The Strait of Hormuz is among the most strategically important of these waterways. Located between Iran and Oman, it connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the wider Arabian Sea. Before the war involving the US, Israel and Iran began on February 28, around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the strait.
Any restrictions on shipping through Hormuz directly affects energy supplies, transport costs and international supply chains far beyond the Middle East.
The EU-backed declaration invokes the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the international framework governing activities at sea. It says countries should not introduce unlawful fees, discriminatory restrictions or prior authorisation requirements that interfere with lawful passage through international straits.
“We oppose any measures, including the imposition of unlawful fees, tolls, discriminatory restrictions, prior authorisation requirements or other conditions, that would hamper or impair lawful navigation, through straits used for international navigation,” the declaration said.
The countries have also pledged to work through international institutions, including the International Maritime Organisation, to protect maritime safety and a rules-based system for navigation.
IRAN ASSERTS CONTROL OVER HORMUZ
The push comes as Iran has maintained that it exercises control over the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing conflict. Tehran has demanded that payments should be made for access. Mohammadreza Naqdi, an adviser to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said transit routes that Iran considers illegal would soon be closed. He was referring to a southern passage running close to Oman’s coast.
Naqdi claimed that the routes had been created by damaging rocky passages in the waterway and were being used by small boats to smuggle oil and transfer it to tankers.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have full control over it. This situation will continue until Iran’s legitimate demands are met,” he said.
Shipping data has also highlighted the disruption. According to analytics firm Kpler, only seven commodity vessels crossed the strait on 6 October, the lowest number recorded since July 23. The number rose to 10 the following day, but remained well below the more than 20 vessels recorded on Sunday and Monday.
Before the war, about 125 large commercial vessels crossed the strait each day. Attacks on tankers, security concerns and logistical constraints have since disrupted traffic, although some oil exports have been redirected through alternative routes.
The disruption has added urgency to diplomatic efforts to reopen the waterway, but Tehran and Washington remain at odds over the terms. On October 11, Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, described the US response to Tehran’s seven conditions for reopening the waterway as “insufficient”. He said Washington had accepted some demands but left others unclear. Iran has insisted that the strait will not be reopened to the US until its conditions are met.
The conditions include ending hostilities, lifting the US naval blockade and unfreezing Iranian assets. Tehran has also sought to prioritise reopening the strait and restoring maritime security, while Washington wants its nuclear concerns addressed early in negotiations.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
