Iran's 'Tehran toll booth' forces some tankers to pay millions to leave Strait of Hormuz

Iran is forcing oil tankers to take a new route in the Strait of Hormuz, with some ships charged millions of dollars to transit “the Tehran tollbooth.”

DOHA, Qatar — Call it the world’s most dangerous toll booth.

Iran is forcing oil tankers to take a new route in the Strait of Hormuz through a narrow passage controlled by its Revolutionary Guard, with some ships charged millions of dollars to transit, according to maritime data shared with NBC News.

The new system — dubbed “the Tehran toll booth” by shipping industry experts — indicates Iran remains firmly in control of the critical waterway despite intense strikes on the country, and may be looking to cement that control over the longer term.

Before the U.S. and Israel launched their bombing campaign on Feb. 28, around 110 ships were passing through the Strait of Hormuz every day, data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows. Since then, that number has plummeted to fewer than 10 a day, according to the London-based maritime intelligence service.

Maritime traffic routes through the Strait of Hormuz from Sunday to Thursday.NBC NewsInstead of sailing down the middle of the strait, those ships are now taking a new route into Iran’s territorial waters and through a tight passage between the islands of Qeshm and Larak, Tomer Raanan, a maritime risk analyst with the Lloyds List shipping journal, told NBC News on Wednesday.