Iran begins charging vessels to transit Strait of Hormuz through IRGC-controlled 'safe corridor'

Iran has begun charging shipping companies for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, establishing a "safe corridor" for pre-approved vessels through its territorial waters, Newsbase reported, citing Lloyd's List on March 20.

The ransom move represents the most concrete step yet towards the new Hormuz regime that senior Iranian official Mohammad Mokhber signalled earlier this week in a previous IntelliNews report, when he said Iran would shift from being sanctioned to imposing sanctions on the West through control of the waterway.

At least one operator has paid approximately $2mn for a tanker to transit the strait. A total of nine vessels have passed through the corridor so far, though it is unclear how many paid directly, with some passages reportedly arranged through diplomatic channels.

The corridor runs through Iranian territorial waters near Larak Island, where vessels undergo visual inspection by IRGC naval forces and port authorities. Access is granted only with Tehran's prior approval.

Carriers must submit detailed information about vessel ownership and cargo destination through intermediaries linked to Iran based abroad. The system is designed to exclude ships with US or Israeli connections.

The IRGC plans to formalise the arrangement with a registration and transit permit system in the coming days. India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia and China are already negotiating with Tehran and coordinating vessel movements through the mechanism, Lloyd's List reported.

Despite the corridor's operation, traffic remains minimal. Between March 15 and 17, only 15 transits were recorded, with roughly 90% linked to Iran through ownership or trade.

Analysts warned that an IRGC transit permit does not guarantee safety, noting that individual IRGC units could still detain or seize vessels regardless of approvals. Industry sources said the system bore similarities to the permit regime operated by Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea.

The permits-for-passage system described relies on direct coordination with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. There is no central control as the Strait is currently controlled by one of the IRGC’s 31 autonomous cells acting under standing orders issued ahead of the war as part of its Decentralised Mosaic Defence doctrine (DMD), Financial Times previously reported.

“A tanker operator contacts intermediaries. The intermediaries negotiate with the IRGC. A fee is agreed, reportedly up to $2mn per voyage. Payment is made in cash, cryptocurrency, or barter. The vessel receives clearance. The IRGC hails the tanker on VHF radio, verifies its Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder data, and grants passage,” the report said.

“Roughly 89 to 90 vessels, including 16 oil tankers, have successfully made the journey between March 1 and March 15 under some form of IRGC clearance,” according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Not all ships were required to pay. Iranian-linked ship passes for free and other ships given permission via government-to-government negotiations, such as ships belonging to India, have also been given permits gratis, according to reports. On March 18 one ship that tried to traverse the strait without permission and with its AIS off was struck by an Iranian missile and turned back, according to reports.