Japanese Tanker Passes Through Strait of Hormuz, Iran Demands RMB Toll
The Japanese tanker Idemitsu Maru, carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil, passed through the Strait of Hormuz, coordinating its passage with Iran.
Iran has implemented a tiered toll system for passing vessels, starting at approximately $1 per barrel for tankers, to be settled in RMB, Iranian rials, or stablecoins. A VLCC may incur about $2 million in charges; the Japanese government stated that no actual payment was made through negotiations.
Asian energy-importing countries are coordinating with Iran for passage, shifting payments from the dollar-dominated route to RMB or non-dollar payments. Iran and beneficiaries of RMB settlements profit, putting pressure on the traditional dollar oil trade chain reliant on the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Iran has gradually "legitimized" its control over the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict, shifting from military threats to formal tolls. It previously implemented RMB settlements for vessels from friendly countries, and this incident with the Japanese tanker continues its path of bypassing U.S. sanctions through tiered access and non-dollar payments.
In terms of capital flow, Iran's demand for tolls to be paid in RMB or stablecoins transforms its control over 20% of global oil transport into stable non-dollar income, while forcing Asian importers (Japan, India, China, etc.) to increase their use of RMB, creating a dual RMB repatriation loop of "toll + oil trade." Countries like Japan are negotiating for exemptions or low-cost passage.
Similar to Iran's previous use of oil RMB settlements to break through SWIFT restrictions, this situation represents a mid-term transition of the Strait of Hormuz from an "international public waterway" to "Iranian toll access + non-dollar settlement." Several vessels have already paid in RMB.
Essentially, this reflects a transfer of pricing power: the dollar-dominated free navigation mechanism, previously secured by the U.S. Navy, is being disrupted by Iran's military and economic control, seizing pricing power in the Strait through tiered tolls and mandatory RMB settlements, restructuring global energy transport from a "dollar + security guarantee" model to a "geopolitical access + non-dollar payment" delivery mechanism.