DOHA, May 31. /TASS/. Qatar stands against imposing a permanent toll for the passage through the Strait of Hormuz but is ready negotiate a temporary one, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
"About charging legal revenue, I think Qatar and also the partners in the Gulf stated very clearly that charging fees will always impact the consumer, so we are against this," he told the Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore, as quoted by the Doha News portal.
"But for certain times that they (Iranian authorities - TASS) say they will use it [the toll] for mine-clearing or some usage of the fees for a temporary time, this is something negotiable," said, adding that a temporary fee "could be something that will help the transit of the Strait of Hormuz" to return back to normal.
"But I reiterate here that this should not be a legal fee that will impact even to other straits that will follow the same example and this again will bring us to a disorder of the maritime solution," he added.
Iranian Parliament National Security Committee Chairman Ebrahim Azizi said on May 16 that Iran has developed a mechanism for managing vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, fees will be charged for the specialized services provided under this mechanism, and only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Tehran will be able to use them. According to Doha News, approximately 93% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and 96% of the United Arab Emirates’ LNG exports pass through this waterway. This route accounts for 19% of global LNG trade.