rules govern international – The story so far: Escalating the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has attacked three ships in its territorial waters, detaining two. This is reportedly in response to the US military seizing two ships, including a very large crude cargo ship belonging to Iran, in the high seas between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Within a day of the start of the war on February 28, transit across the Strait of Hormuz dropped from about 100 ships on a typical day to a handful. Iran implemented a system of allowing transit based on geopolitical considerations and according to media reports a toll fee of over a million dollars per ship was charged.

India was one of the biggest beneficiaries of this system, with Iran allowing the passage of about 10 Indian-flagged ships and several foreign-flagged ships carrying India’s oil and gas supplies.