Frequently Asked Questions

The live vessel tracker on this site shows AIS positions for all ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea. Each vessel is labelled with its ship type, flag, destination, and speed, and tracks update continuously from live AIS data.

The tracker covers tankers (crude oil, product, LNG, LPG), container ships, dry bulk carriers, general cargo, Ro-Ro, cruise vessels, and naval traffic.

In normal conditions the Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 70–90 oil and gas tankers plus 60+ other commercial vessels per day. That represents about one-fifth of global seaborne oil trade (17–21 million barrels per day) and roughly one-third of global seaborne LNG.

Since the April 2026 crisis, daily transit counts during blockade or restricted-escort windows have fallen to single digits or low teens. Current counts are visible on the live tracker.

On 17 April 2026, thirty non-combatant nations met at the Elysée Palace, co-chaired by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to launch the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative. It was the first institutional forum to plan how the chokepoint will be governed after the 2026 crisis.

A military planning follow-up is scheduled at the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood.

Full analysis: Thirty Nations in Paris, No United States.

During the 2026 crisis, Iran has reportedly demanded ad-hoc per-transit payments in the order of one million US dollars per vessel, with various payment mechanisms reported including cryptocurrency and settlement via Iranian banks. This is not a published toll schedule and not a transparent tariff.

The structured toll model discussed on this site is a separate proposal modelled on the Suez Canal Authority and Panama Canal Authority: published rates, vessel-type differentiation, ring-fenced security and environmental funding, and non-discriminatory application across flag states. See the FAQ below “How does this calculator compare to an ad-hoc $1M per-ship fee?” for the full structural contrast.

Under the structured toll model on this site, a typical laden Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC, ~300,000 DWT) transits for approximately $600,000 to $630,000 per transit, including the $5,000 security fee and before escort or priority surcharges. That works out to roughly $0.26 to $0.35 per barrel of crude.

For the full published tariff see the Rate Schedule, and to estimate a specific vessel use the calculator.

• hormuztoll.com live tracker and hormuztoll.com news — focused Strait of Hormuz coverage
• MarineTraffic and VesselFinder — AIS-based live vessel tracking
• LSEG / Refinitiv — tanker flow and cargo movement data
• UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) — regional security advisories for commercial shipping
• IMO GISIS — Global Integrated Shipping Information System

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea passage between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the world's single most important maritime oil chokepoint.

• ~1/5 of global seaborne oil passes through it (17–21 million barrels per day in normal conditions)
• ~1/3 of global seaborne LNG passes through it
• At its narrowest the strait is just 21 nautical miles wide
• The inbound and outbound shipping lanes are each only 2 nautical miles wide

Any sustained disruption to Hormuz traffic has immediate, measurable effects on global oil, LNG, and shipping markets. See About for more detail.

The toll system covers 13 categories of vessels:

• Crude Oil Tankers
• Petroleum Products Tankers
• Chemical Tankers / Liquid Bulk
• LNG Carriers
• LPG Carriers
• Container Ships
• Dry Bulk Carriers
• General Cargo / Reefer vessels
• Ro-Ro vessels
• Vehicle Carriers
• Cruise / Passenger Vessels
• Special Floating Units / Naval / Dredgers
• Small Craft / Yachts / Support Vessels

The toll is assembled from several components:

• Fixed transit fee — based on the vessel's automatically determined size class (Small, Regular, Super, or Mega)
• Capacity-based component — calculated using a per-unit rate specific to the vessel type (per ton, per DWT, per m³, per TEU, etc.)
• Security fee — a flat $5,000 applied to all transits
• Dimensional surcharges — extra charges if draft exceeds 20 m, beam exceeds 50 m, or LOA exceeds 300 m
• Operational surcharges — for dangerous cargo (+7%), priority slot (+12%), war-risk (+4%), escort tug ($25,000)
• Discounts — ballast transit (−15%) and eco-vessel rebate (−5%)

For the full rate schedule, visit the Rate Schedule page.

Size class is determined automatically based on several vessel parameters. If any single criterion is met, the vessel is elevated to that class:

• Mega: beam ≥ 49 m, LOA ≥ 295 m, GT ≥ 120,000, TEU ≥ 10,000, or DWT ≥ 150,000
• Super: beam ≥ 40 m, LOA ≥ 230 m, GT ≥ 50,000, TEU ≥ 5,000, or DWT ≥ 70,000
• Regular: default for all other commercial vessels
• Small: small craft / yacht vessel type only

Mega thresholds take priority over Super. The fixed transit fee ranges from $15,000 (Small) to $300,000 (Mega).

Vessels transiting the strait in ballast (unladen) receive a 15% discount on the sub-total, reflecting their lower environmental impact, reduced navigational risk, and lower demand on infrastructure. This discount is not available to container ships, which use a TEU-based billing system that already accounts for load status.

A 7% surcharge is applied when a vessel is carrying IMO-classified dangerous goods, hazardous chemicals, or other high-risk cargo. The surcharge is calculated on the sub-total (after any ballast adjustment) and funds dedicated emergency response capabilities, spill containment equipment, and hazmat monitoring in the strait.

The eco-vessel rebate provides a 5% discount on the total assessed toll (after all surcharges). To qualify, a vessel must hold current certification under a recognized environmental program such as:

• Green Award
• Clean Shipping Index
• Environmental Ship Index (ESI)
• Equivalent IMO environmental compliance certification

This rebate incentivizes the maritime industry to adopt cleaner technologies and reduce emissions.

Vessels exceeding certain dimension thresholds pay additional per-metre fees:

• Draft over 20 m: $3,500 per metre beyond 20 m
• Beam over 50 m: $1,800 per metre beyond 50 m
• LOA over 300 m: $400 per metre beyond 300 m

These surcharges are cumulative. A vessel with draft 22 m, beam 55 m, and LOA 350 m would incur all three surcharges simultaneously. They reflect increased navigational complexity, channel utilization, and infrastructure wear from oversized vessels.

Non-container vessels (e.g., general cargo, Ro-Ro, bulk carriers) that carry containers on deck are charged an additional $110 per TEU for those on-deck containers. This fee does not apply to dedicated container ships, which already use TEU-based billing for their full capacity.

Yes. The calculator includes a Comparison Mode that lets you evaluate the same vessel under two different operational conditions side by side. Enable it by checking "Enable comparison (Scenario B)" in the calculator.

In Scenario B, you can change the transit status (laden/ballast) and toggle individual surcharges independently. The results table will show both scenarios with a delta column highlighting the cost difference.

The calculator supports four currencies: US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP), and Chinese Yuan (CNY). All base rates are denominated in USD; other currencies are converted using live exchange rates from the European Central Bank (via frankfurter.app). When live rates are unavailable, hardcoded fallback rates are used.

You can switch currencies at any time using the selector, and all displayed amounts update instantly without reloading the page.

Yes. After calculating a toll, click the "Copy link" button to copy a shareable URL that encodes all your input parameters. Anyone who opens that link will see the same vessel configuration and toll result. You can also use the "Print estimate" button to generate a printer-friendly version of the breakdown.

Yes. The calculator stores up to 20 recent calculations in your browser's local storage. You can view them in the "Recent calculations" panel on the right side of the calculator page. Click "Load" on any entry to restore those inputs, or use "Clear history" to remove them all.

History is stored locally in your browser only and is not transmitted to any server.

The calculator dynamically shows or hides input fields based on the selected vessel type, because different vessel types use different billing bases. For example:

• Selecting "Container Ship" shows TEU capacity, loaded TEU, and empty TEU fields
• Selecting "LNG Carrier" shows the cargo capacity (m³) field
• Selecting "Cruise / Passenger Vessel" shows the passenger count field
• Selecting "Special Floating Unit" shows the displacement tonnage field

Fields that aren't relevant to the selected vessel type are hidden to keep the form clean and focused.

Rates are reviewed annually and adjusted through a structured consultation process involving industry stakeholders, flag state representatives, and environmental advisory boards. Rate changes are published at least 90 days before taking effect, giving operators time to adjust their planning.

The rates currently shown in the calculator and rate schedule represent the prevailing tariff. The $config array in the calculator can be updated to reflect rate changes.

Military and government vessels operating under sovereign immunity (per UNCLOS Article 32) transit the strait under separate bilateral or multilateral arrangements. The toll calculator's "Special Floating Unit / Naval / Dredger" category can be used to model displacement-based fees for non-exempt government or auxiliary vessels, but sovereign warships and naval auxiliaries are typically subject to different protocols.

In a production deployment, toll payment would typically be handled through established maritime payment channels similar to those used by the Suez and Panama Canals:

• Pre-transit electronic payment via the authority's portal
• Payment through accredited shipping agents
• Direct bank transfer against a pro-forma invoice
• Credit account arrangements for frequent transit operators

The calculator provides estimates to support transit planning and cost forecasting.

A flat per-barrel toll sounds simple but fails structurally for several reasons:

• Only crude oil is measured in barrels. The Strait of Hormuz carries LNG (billed per cubic metre), container ships (billed per TEU), dry bulk carriers (billed per DWT), cruise ships (billed per passenger + tonnage), vehicle carriers, Ro-Ro vessels, and naval units. A per-barrel charge is meaningless for 10 of the 13 vessel categories in the toll system.
• It requires cargo manifests, not vessel certificates. The toll system bills against fixed vessel registration data (GT, NT, SCNT, DWT, TEU, cargo capacity, displacement, LOA) that is verifiable from classification society records and does not change voyage to voyage. A per-barrel toll requires knowing the exact cargo loaded on each transit, which means cargo declarations, volume surveys, and density adjustments for different petroleum products. This is operationally complex and invitation to disputes.
• It penalises ballast transits unfairly. A tanker returning empty to a Gulf loading port carries zero barrels and would pay zero toll, yet it still uses the strait's navigational infrastructure, VTS, and security assets. The current model charges a reduced (but nonzero) toll for ballast transits via the 15% ballast discount.
• "Barrels" vary by product density. A barrel of heavy crude, a barrel of refined gasoline, a barrel of naphtha, and a barrel of fuel oil all have different weights and different market values. A flat per-barrel rate either overtaxes low-value products or undertaxes high-value ones.
• No size-class differentiation. A per-barrel toll charges the same per unit regardless of whether a vessel is a 50,000 DWT Aframax or a 300,000 DWT ULCC. The fixed-fee and dimensional-surcharge components of the toll model reflect the reality that larger vessels impose greater demands on navigational infrastructure and escort capacity.

For context, the effective per-barrel cost under the structured toll model works out to roughly $0.26 to $0.35 per barrel for typical crude tankers, well below $1 per barrel, while also funding security, escorts, and environmental programs that a flat per-barrel levy would not.

The Suez Canal and Panama Canal have never used per-barrel pricing for exactly these reasons. Both use vessel-characteristic-based billing (SCNT and PC/UMS tonnage respectively), and the Hormuz toll model follows the same proven approach.

During the 2026 crisis, vessels have reportedly been charged over $1 million per transit for clearance to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The contrast between an ad-hoc flat fee and the structured toll model on this site is fundamental, not just in price but in design:

• Published vs opaque. The Hormuz toll model publishes every rate, threshold, surcharge, and discount in the rate schedule. An ad-hoc fee has no published schedule; the amount is reportedly negotiated per vessel with no transparency.
• 13 vessel types vs one flat fee. The toll model differentiates by vessel type, size class, capacity, and operational parameters. A 2,000 TEU feeder container ship and a 300,000 DWT VLCC pay very different amounts because they impose very different demands on the strait. A flat ad-hoc fee applies the same charge regardless of vessel characteristics.
• Funded security vs unfunded. The toll model's security fee ($5,000), war-risk surcharge (4%), and escort tug fee ($25,000) generate ring-fenced revenue for patrols, mine clearance, VTS, and emergency response. An ad-hoc fee flows to no audited account and funds no published security capability available to all vessels.
• Non-discriminatory vs selective. The toll model applies the same rate per ton regardless of flag state, ownership, or cargo destination. Ad-hoc fees are reportedly applied selectively, with some flag states receiving different treatment than others.
• Eco and ballast incentives vs none. The toll model includes a 5% eco-vessel rebate and a 15% ballast discount, creating long-term incentives for cleaner shipping and fair treatment of unladen return voyages. The flat $1M fee provides no environmental incentive whatsoever.

On cost alone: a typical VLCC under the structured toll model pays approximately $600,000 to $630,000 per laden transit, including security surcharges. That is 35% to 40% less than the reported ad-hoc fee, while funding actual escort and environmental capability that a flat fee does not.

The Suez Canal Authority and Panama Canal Authority operate on the structured model, not the flat-fee model, for exactly these reasons. Transparent, formula-based pricing with audited revenue use is the foundation of every successful chokepoint toll system in history.