EU seeks maritime alliance as Hormuz crisis traps 1,000 ships

The European Union’s top foreign policy official said Tuesday that the escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz shows an urgent need for a strong international maritime security alliance. The statement comes as a two-week ceasefire fails to reopen the critical waterway, where Iran continues to restrict passage for nearly 1,000 vessels and 20,000 seafarers, pushing Brent crude prices up more than 30 percent since the conflict began.

"The current situation in the Strait of Hormuz clearly shows that the international community urgently needs to establish a strong maritime security alliance," EU foreign policy chief Kallas said on April 9. "The EU will continue to reject any arrangement that limits the free and safe passage of ships through the strait, in accordance with international law."

The crisis has effectively paralyzed traffic through a chokepoint that handles about 20 percent of the world's oil supply. Since a ceasefire began on April 7, only 18 vessels have transited the strait, a dramatic drop from the daily average of over 100 before the conflict, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC). The disruption has sent the spot price of Brent crude to around $97 a barrel, feeding global inflation concerns.

The call for a new security framework follows the failure of the United Nations Security Council to act and the collapse of peace talks between the US and Iran. With diplomacy stalled, the US has announced a naval blockade of Iranian ports, raising the stakes in a conflict that began with a joint US-Israeli strike that killed Iran's Supreme Leader on February 28.

Ceasefire Fails to Reopen Vital Waterway

Despite a two-week conditional ceasefire that required the full reopening of the strait, Iran has maintained control by declaring traditional shipping lanes mined and hazardous. Tehran is forcing all vessels to seek approval from its armed forces and use a route close to Larak Island, while demanding a toll of $1 per barrel of oil, equivalent to a $2 million charge for a very large crude carrier (VLCC).

The demands have been flatly rejected by Western powers. US President Donald Trump posted on social media that Iran was doing a "very poor job" of honoring the agreement and warned that if they were charging fees, "they better stop now!"

Similarly, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stressed that the Strait of Hormuz is an international shipping route. "No country can close those routes, and it goes against the fundamental principles of the Law of the Sea," Cooper said in a speech in London. "Freedom of navigation means navigation must be free."

Diplomatic Impasse and US Blockade

The EU's call for an alliance comes after the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution on April 7 that would have encouraged defensive coordination to protect shipping. The measure was vetoed by permanent members Russia and China, who argued the draft unfairly singled out Iran without addressing "illegal attacks by the United States and Israel," according to Russia's ambassador Vassily Nebenzia.

Subsequent peace talks held in Islamabad and mediated by Pakistan also collapsed within a day. Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the US was "unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation." In response to the diplomatic failures and Iran's continued control of the strait, the US announced it would begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

US Central Command clarified the blockade will only apply to ships going to or from Iran, but President Trump added that any vessels that paid tolls to Iran would not have "safe passage on the high seas." The move has been met with defiance from Tehran, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warning that any "miscalculated move will trap the enemy in the deadly whirlpools in the strait."

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.