Al Jaber: Hormuz must be reopened without restriction

• Access ‘restricted, conditioned, controlled’
• Naval mines dash reopening prospects
• Suggestion Iran is using fee system

The Strait of Hormuz must be reopened “fully, unconditionally and without restriction”, Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s industry and advanced technology minister has said, as hopes of a return to normal shipping were undermined by Iranian warnings over sea mines.

Al Jaber, chief executive of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), said the chokepoint was a natural waterway governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“Let’s be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled,” he wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

“Iran has made clear – through both its statements and actions – that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage. That is not freedom of navigation. That is coercion.”

The strait remained at an effective standstill a day after a two-week ceasefire brokered between the US and Iran. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) posted a map showing alternative shipping routes in the strait to help transiting ships avoid naval mines, Reuters reported.

Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of maritime intelligence firm Lloyd’s List, said hopes of an imminent reopening of the chokepoint had been “pretty much dashed” by the prospect of naval mines. 

This had undermined assumptions operators were making “even 24 hours ago”, he added.

Five bulk ships and an oil tanker have transited the narrow waterway since the temporary truce, according to Reuters, suggesting any reopening is likely to be phased rather than immediate.

In a major intervention, Al Jaber said no country had a legitimate right to decide who may pass through the waterway and under what terms, saying that transit through the strait is guaranteed under international law.

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“The Strait was not built, engineered, financed or constructed by any state,” he said. “It is a natural passage governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees transit as a matter of right, not a privilege to be granted, withheld or weaponised.”

“The strait must be open – fully, unconditionally and without restriction,” he added. “Energy security and global economic stability depend on it.”

Al Jaber said every day of restricted access deepened disruption across energy markets and the wider economy. He also disclosed that Adnoc had cargoes loaded and would seek to expand production within the limits imposed by damage sustained during the conflict, provided staff safety could be assured.

The mechanics of the system emerging around the strait also remain opaque. Meade said memos circulating in the market suggested Iran was using a “one-to-five ranking system for countries”, though he stressed the material had not been independently verified. 

He said vessels from countries seen as friendlier to Iran appeared to be receiving more favourable treatment. “The base price in negotiations is usually around $1 per barrel for oil, and these amounts are paid in Chinese yuan or stablecoins pegged to real currency.”

Even if the security situation improved, he said releasing trapped traffic too quickly would create fresh dangers in one of the world’s most congested waterways.

“If too many ships attempt to transit at once due to the confined nature of the strait, there is going to be heightened risk of navigational hazards like groundings or collisions,” Meade said.

British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper was among a number of governments who said fees to pass through the waterway were unworkable. “The fundamental freedoms of the seas must not be unilaterally withdrawn or sold off to individual bidders,” she said.