Overview
- Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced the Persian Gulf Strait Authority on Monday to manage passage in the Strait of Hormuz and require ships to coordinate with Iranian forces.
- State-linked reports say Iran launched the Hormuz Safe platform on May 16 to sell digital marine policies settled in Bitcoin, with coverage for inspection, detention and confiscation while excluding war damage.
- Operational details remain thin as the site shows only a placeholder and no independent confirmation of processed policies, raising questions about underwriting capacity and real-world acceptance.
- Legal and compliance experts warn that paying Iranian-linked platforms could trigger U.S. OFAC sanctions, and ports or major insurers may refuse Iranian certificates, limiting who can use the scheme.
- Strait traffic, which had plunged during the conflict, has started to recover to 55 commodity vessels last week from a wartime low of 19, even as high war-risk costs persist and a proposed $40 billion U.S. reinsurance backstop has yet to cover ships.