{"id":180,"date":"2026-05-23T16:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=180"},"modified":"2026-05-23T16:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:37:12","slug":"the-method-in-irans-madness-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-echoes-a-centuries-old-danish-play-%e2%88%92-and-is-a-tragedy-for-the-world-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=180","title":{"rendered":"The method in Iran\u2019s madness? Closure of Strait of Hormuz echoes a centuries\u2011old Danish play \u2212 and is a tragedy for the world\u00a0order"},"content":{"rendered":"
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More than two months into the war in Iran, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz \u2013 the key waterway through which more than a third of the international trade in oil and gas passes \u2013 remains perilous and uncertain. Underscoring the uncertainty, on May 3, 2026, the Trump administration launched Project Freedom to help stranded ships through the strait. Yet the next day, at least two ships came under fire from Iran.<\/p>\n

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Iran began blocking the strait to navigation on Feb. 28, after the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against the country. By mid-March, Tehran was demanding tolls of up to US$2 million per vessel. In response, the U.S. imposed what President Donald Trump declared to be a \u201ccomplete\u201d maritime blockade on Iran and subsequently threatened punishing economic sanctions on any entity that pays Iran\u2019s tolls. <\/p>\n

Following Iran\u2019s lead, other nations are now contemplating using their own leverage over crucial choke points closer to their shores. Indonesia floated a proposal to charge tolls on vessels transiting the Strait of Malacca, before walking it back. China has also issued warnings against foreign military vessels transiting the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n

These events have prompted commentators to warn of the end of a golden era of navigational freedom that the U.S. has underwritten for more than a century. But as an expert on international law, I know that attempts by nations to weaponize their leverage over crucial geographic choke points at sea and on land are nothing new. In fact, they go back at least six centuries. <\/p>\n

The Danish roots of sea tolls<\/h2>\n

From the early 15th century until 1857, Denmark required ships passing through the narrow straits connecting the North Sea to the Baltic Sea to stop at the port city of Helsing\u00f8r \u2014 or Elsinore, as Shakespeare styled it in \u201cHamlet\u201d \u2014 and pay a toll before proceeding. <\/p>\n

At their peak, these Sound Dues generated nearly 10% of Danish national revenues. The Sound Dues rankled the maritime powers of the day, but Denmark could easily enforce them thanks to the narrowness of the \u00d8resund Strait, which is less than 3 miles wide at Helsing\u00f8r. <\/p>\n