GLOBAL economies could be hit by a fresh round of chaos as Indonesia weighs up charging cargo ships to use the second-busiest shipping route on Earth.
The proposed fee, inspired by the “Tehran tollbooth” in the Strait of Hormuz, could spark more price spikes amid the worldwide crisis caused by the war in Iran.
The Malacca Strait one of if not the most vital global shipping route Credit: EPA
Indonesia’s finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa floated the idea of demanding entry fees through the Malacca Strait earlier this week.
His suggestion has sparked panic for governments around the world – with mounting fears the concept could mark a new era for global trade.
Sadewa said: “Ships pass through the Malacca Strait without being charged – I’m not sure whether that’s right or wrong.
“Iran is now planning to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“If we split it three ways – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – it could be quite substantial. If only it could be like that. But it is not like that.”
The comments come amid the spiralling Strait of Hormuz saga – which has sent oil prices soaring as the US battles to untangle Iran‘s stranglehold on the key shipping route.
The Strait of Malacca is a more significant waterway than Hormuz – acting as a trade passage for more than one fifth of global maritime trade.
Its westwards route includes most of Asia’s goods exports to Britain and .
Heading east, the trade artery is a passage for three quarters of China’s crude oil imports – making it a huge chokepoint.
The waterway, just 1.7 miles wide at its narrowest point, is surrounded by Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Its manageable size would make it significantly easier to impose a toll on, as opposed to other passages such as the Strait of Hormuz.
Indonesia’s foreign minister has since downplayed his colleague’s comments, while the other neighbouring nations have also distances themselves from his ideas.
It comes after US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, pictured on March 8 Credit: AP
Indonesia’s Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa hinted at a tollbooth for the Malacca Strait Credit: AFP
The minister’s suggestions have contributed to Tehran’s “really dangerous precedent” set by its Hormuz Strait blockade, Larry Johnson, global head of freight at Mercuria Energy Trading, said.
He explained: “If chokepoints or waterways start getting tolled or feed or threatened and it becomes a precedent that one will allow such fees to be collected, then what’s next?
“The Black Sea, the Danish Straits, Malacca, who knows?
“Now we don’t anymore have a free flow of global trade.”
Cichen Shen, a shipping expert at Lloyd’s List in Singapore, told The Telegraph the proposed fee in the Malacca Strait was “worrisome”.
She said: “There is concern about whether we are on the edge of a paradigm shift in terms of shipping becoming a geopolitical leverage and a security asset, and the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation being undermined.”
has also said that the US could charge a toll to vessels wanting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US president said: “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them.
“Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”
Donald Trump has launched his own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Credit: Getty
Trump has also previously hinted at reclaiming the Panama Canal – another critical trade passage – to crackdown on China’s growing influence in the region.
Iran’s evil mullahs have held the Strait of Hormuz hostage and sent the international economy into a spin for nearly two months.
The narrow waterway once carried a fifth of global oil and gas.
The fierce Middle Eastern conflict, which erupted with a US-Israeli bombing campaign of on February 28, has turned the vital shipping lane into a powder keg.
It comes after dramatic footage showed US forces leaping down from helicopters to seize yet another Iranian-linked oil tanker.
Washington released footage of Thursday’s seizure of the Majestic X tanker vessel in the Indian Ocean.
Troops fast-roped down onto the deck of the vessel as they boarded the sanctioned ship via multiple helicopters.
The release of the footage came just hours after Iran shared video claiming to show balaclava-clad naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz.
IRGC boats terrorised three commercial ships with gunfire, warning that all US vessels were “legitimate targets” after spurning
Armed IRGC agents deployed on gunboats reportedly opened fire on the Greek-owned container ship MSC Epaminondas before boarding and threatening the crew.
The Strait of Hormuz has seen a blockade by Tehran Credit: AP
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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