I never thought "the insurance and underwriting industry" could be exciting, but this was a fascinating read.
Here on our computers we've been watching AIS maps of ships transiting the strait or not in response to global events. And then here in this article, it's the buyer/seller/broker side of it all that has been reacting and adapting to the same events, and ultimately determining who moves.
The natural solution would be, pay the toll and pass it to the customers. Every situation will be taken as granted/given, if the impact can be passed on to downstream.
Either have good relationships with Iran, and get exceptions like India and China, or pay Iran for shipping in the Strait (just another cost of doing business). Trump's blockade of the Strait doesn't inspire international support because it drives energy prices higher, and allows the US to derive some economic benefits from the move as it is also an energy exporter. Other countries that suffer due to this will obviously resent it thus making political cooperation difficult. (Note that the US has already killed 3 indian sailors while enforcing its blockade - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlw3k5l3k4o - obviously the Indians now love Trump for it and are even great supporter of him and his war on Iran!)
Even America's gulf allies have said the same thing - all of them have said that they don't mind paying a toll to Iran for shipping through the Strait but won't cede authority to Iran to control which ship can sail through it (as that's against international maritime laws). That's a very reasonable compromise to make to get the Strait opened. But the hurt egos of the current US administration now believes blockading Iran, like Cuba, and starving their economy and people will remind people that America is still a "superpowah". Sure. But it also reminds the Iranian people, and many others in the Global South, of imperialism and colonialism. With the attack on Ukraine, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the world already sees the collapse of the "rules-based order" (whose foundation was based on the recognition of sovereignty of every country). If the rest of the world perceive that it is going to be replaced by imperialism and colonial politics again, the West can definitely expect a real "clash of civilisation" between it and the Global South.
Here on our computers we've been watching AIS maps of ships transiting the strait or not in response to global events. And then here in this article, it's the buyer/seller/broker side of it all that has been reacting and adapting to the same events, and ultimately determining who moves.
Even America's gulf allies have said the same thing - all of them have said that they don't mind paying a toll to Iran for shipping through the Strait but won't cede authority to Iran to control which ship can sail through it (as that's against international maritime laws). That's a very reasonable compromise to make to get the Strait opened. But the hurt egos of the current US administration now believes blockading Iran, like Cuba, and starving their economy and people will remind people that America is still a "superpowah". Sure. But it also reminds the Iranian people, and many others in the Global South, of imperialism and colonialism. With the attack on Ukraine, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the world already sees the collapse of the "rules-based order" (whose foundation was based on the recognition of sovereignty of every country). If the rest of the world perceive that it is going to be replaced by imperialism and colonial politics again, the West can definitely expect a real "clash of civilisation" between it and the Global South.