Trump's protection racket in the Strait of Hormuz effectively blockades the good guys, violates international law same as Iran

 UN maritime agency opposes Hormuz transit fees after Trump demands protection money

The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, said Monday that it opposes transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump demanded that ships pay protection money.

“We have always been consistent on our stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation,” a spokesperson said.

“There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait,” the spokesperson said.

... Tolls to transit Hormuz are against international law, said James Kraska, an expert on international maritime law at the U.S. Naval War College. The world has an unimpeded right to transit Hormuz, Kraska said. ...  

Incompetent organized crime boss imposes protection fees on Strait of Hormuz cargo which he will also blockade

 

 The tyrant is the real slave. He is mastered by a whole host of conflicting desires, none of which he is therefore able to in any way satisfy.  

Trump proposes 20% toll on cargo through Strait of Hormuz; restarts Iran blockade

President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will impose fees in the Strait of Hormuz “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” after declaring America’s role as the “guardian” of the major oil-shipping route. ...  Trump’s post asserts that commercial vessels attempting the transit must now pay protection money to the U.S. ... 

“The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’” he claimed. “But as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.”

“The process and formation will begin immediately,” he added. ... 

 

 

Middle East tanker transits July 5-12, 2026 per JMIC Update 070

SoH: 10.0/day

SoH E: 6.3/day

SoH W: 3.7/day

 

BAM: 14.7/day

BAM SE: 7.3/day

BAM NW: 7.4/day 

 

 

Middle East tanker transits July 2-8, 2026 (I think)

 The last two tables in the JMICs have June here and there when they should have July.

JMIC 69 is another one that can't make up its mind what month it is.

SoH: 14.9/day vs. 70 normal

E: 8.6/day

W: 6.3/day

 

BAM: 13.1/day vs. 30 normal

SE: 6.4/day

NW: 6.7/day 

 

Middle East tanker transits June 30-July 6, 2026 per JMIC Update 068: Strait of Hormuz 16.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 13.4/day

SoH E: 9.0/day

SoH W: 7.4/day

 

BAM SE: 7.0/day

BAM NW: 6.4/day

 

... Metrics are derived from U.S. NCAGS (U.S.-facilitated SoH transits), S&P Maritime, and SeaVision data, and exclude vessels calling Iranian ports adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz. S&P and SeaVision reporting thresholds apply to vessels exceeding 1,000 deadweight tons ...

 

 

Middle East tanker transits June 28-July 4, 2026 per JMIC Update 067: Strait of Hormuz 15.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 14.0/day

SoH E: 7.0/day

SoH W: 8.4/day

 

BAM SE: 7.3/day

BAM NW: 6.7/day 

 

Middle East tanker transits June 25-July 1, 2026 per JMIC Update 066: Strait of Hormuz 17.1/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 15.3/day

SoH E: 9.6/day

SoH W: 7.6/day

 

BAM SE: 8.3/day

BAM NW: 7.0/day 

 

... overall volumes remain uncertain due to AIS-off practices and inconsistent reporting ...

Middle East tanker transits June 23-29, 2026 from JMIC Update 065: Strait of Hormuz 17.6/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.0/day

SoH E: 10.4/day

SoH W: 7.1/day

 

BAM SE: 8.3/day

BAM NW: 7.7/day

 

Reuters and CNBC reported the restart to Saudi oil export operations in the Persian Gulf on Saturday

 Saudi Aramco resumes oil loading at Ras Tanura in boost to supply

... Two Very Large Crude Carriers controlled by Saudi’s shipping arm Bahri were seen loading crude at Ras Tanura, the world’s biggest oil port, while another is heading towards the terminal, the data showed on Friday. A fourth VLCC waited nearby. Each VLCC is capable of loading 2 million barrels of oil.

... Ras Tanura sits on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast on the Gulf and is west of the Strait of Hormuz. It used to export more than 5 million bpd of crude before the conflict. The country’s largest domestic 550,000 bpd refinery is also located at Ras Tanura, which was shut during the war as a precautionary measure. 

Aramco last loaded a cargo from Ras Tanura port for China on March 8, LSEG data showed, and had to divert its exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the Iranian blockade of the strait during its war with the U.S. and Israel prevented ships from entering the Gulf.

The war has caused Saudi crude exports to slump to about 4 million bpd in the past three months, the data showed, from more than 7 million bpd in February.

... [Rystad Energy] now estimates that shut-in production across the Gulf has fallen to 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in mid-June, down from 11.7 million bpd just three weeks ago, and expects a full supply recovery in the region by the end of the year. 

Middle East tanker transits June 21-27, 2026, from JMIC Update 064: Strait of Hormuz 16.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.1/day

SoH Normal: ~70/day

Anomaly: -53.6/day, down 76.6% 

SoH E: 10.3/day

SoH W: 6.1/day

 

BAM Normal: ~30/day

Anomaly: -13.9/day, down 46.3% 

BAM SE: 7.6/day

BAM NW: 8.6/day 

Meanwhile others claim the Saudis are moving oil through the Strait of Hormuz

 In a world where tankers routinely turn off their automatic marine identification systems to avoid identification and hide their locations, or use them to broadcast fake identities and locations, or even sail under false flags, it is difficult to know what to believe. 

The oceans are still The Wild West.

Two examples today claiming Saudi use of the Strait of Hormuz: 

 

The one big missing factor: Saudi Arabia reportedly has not used the Persian Gulf to ship anything

 Shipping rebounds in Strait of Hormuz one week after U.S.-Iran deal – but fragile confidence threatens recovery

 

... Aristidis Alafouzos, CEO of Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp, a crude oil shipping company headquartered in Greece, said he doesn’t expect Thursday’s attack on a ship in the Gulf of Oman to “significantly change” the trend of transits through the waterway.

“We’ve seen a large increase, especially on the crude oil passages, and I think this is set to continue and maybe this one-off event isn’t enough to really disrupt the recent events of the large exports of Kuwaiti and Emirati crude oil from the Gulf,” Alafouzos told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.

“The one big missing factor is the Saudis. For now, we haven’t seen them export almost anything from inside the Arabian Gulf and everything is coming from Yanbu in the Red Sea.” ...

Middle East tanker traffic June 18-24, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 12.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.9/day

SoH E: 6.6/day

SoH W: 5.7/day

 

BAM SE: 7.6/day

BAM NW: 9.3/day 

Middle East tanker transits June 16-22, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 7.6/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 17.1/day

SoH E: 3.6/day

SoH W: 4.0/day

 

BAM SE: 7.3/day

BAM NW: 9.9/day 

 

The main takeaway from this recent very granular chart of Strait of Hormuz tanker transits is that 14 total transits both ways on the most recent day observed is not 70 as at the beginning of the year

 For June 18-20, JMIC Update 061 had 30 total tanker transits whereas this Bloomberg guy has just 24.

 

 

Middle East tanker transits June 14-20, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 5.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.7/day

Tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz would be normal if they were more like 70 per day total, in and out. This would be out of ~138 total transits, which is the normal historical average including also cargo/bulk/etc. vessels as stated in the latest JMIC Update 061.

We are nowhere close to that after Trump's so-called peace deal with Iran.

People who think the world isn't still headed to an oil supply crisis don't know what they're talking about. 

SoH E: 2.6/day; 4.3/day June 18-20 (lol get real)

BAM SE: 7.7/day  

Dun dun ... dun dun ... dun-dun ... dun-dun ... dundun dundun dundun dundun dundun dundun dundun dundun

 

JMIC states Strait of Hormuz open as of today and the U.S. Navy blockade at an end, tanker transits reported for June 11-17, 2026

SoH tanker transits 1.4/day, SoH E 0.9/day

BAM tanker transits 17.0/day, BAM SE 7.1/day

Strait of Hormuz Open

Blockade End

 

Middle East tanker transits June 9-15, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 0.9/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 16.7/day

SoH E:  0.7/day

BAM SE:  8.4/day 

Middle East tanker traffic June 7-13, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 17.0/day

SoH E: 0.7/day

BAM SE: 8.1/day