South Korea’s Strategy: 26 Ships Stuck in Hormuz Strait – What’s Next?

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul said on April 8 that the government is not currently considering imposing transit fees to allow South Korean vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz to pass.

Koo made the remark at the National Assembly during a plenary session of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts reviewing the supplementary war budget. In response to a question from Rep. Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party—“Is there any consideration of paying Iran a transit fee?”—he replied, “We are not considering that at this time.”

When Rep. Bae asked what steps the government is taking to get 26 South Korean vessels freed from the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Koo said safe navigation is paramount and the government is taking all feasible measures.

“We analyzed the 26 vessels and found that five are headed to South Korea,” he explained. “The remainder are operated by Korean carriers but bound for other countries. Of the five destined for Korea, four are carrying oil and one is carrying automobiles.”

On domestic crude oil stocks, Koo said, “Excluding strategic reserves, we have secured supplies through May.” He added that government and private stocks combined total about 190 million metric tons (roughly 209 million short tons). “We are also making every effort to secure additional supplies; the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy has traveled overseas to pursue that effort,” he said.

The Blue House said that after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire conditioned on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the government will accelerate consultations with shipping companies and communications with relevant countries so South Korean vessels can resume transit as soon as possible.

A Blue House official said, “We are coordinating closely with relevant countries to determine specific transit procedures and conditions. We will also work tightly with carriers to quickly re-check all requirements, including the list of vessels that need to transit.”