The suspicion follows a spike in Iranian missile strikes and attacks on tankers, including 14 incidents since Sept. 20. Shipping data from Kpler shows that crude flows through the waterway fell 27% to at least 10.1M bpd on Tuesday, the lowest traffic level since July. To maintain these operations, shipowners are paying captains as much as $100,000 a month and $50,000 per-trip bonuses, far exceeding the standard $8,000 to $12,000 monthly salary for masters.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Gulf Oil Producers Pay Iran Up to 20% Cargo Tolls for Hormuz Transit
Commodities12 days ago
Kpler’s head of policy Michelle Brohard believes certain oil-producing states in the Gulf are paying secret transit fees to Tehran to protect vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. These suspected tolls, paid by nations such as Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE, may range from 10% to 20% of a cargo's value to avoid relying indefinitely on US military escorts, according to Brohard. For a Very Large Crude Carrier carrying 2 million barrels, this amounts to approximately $20 million to $40 million per trip if oil is valued at $100 a barrel.
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