Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), says mandatory tolls or any system that undermines free navigation through international waterways would be illegal under international law, while suggesting a voluntary fund for the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

Dominguez says he discussed “management of the strait” with Omani officials, including talks about the existing arrangement in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

The trilateral framework involving Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore has operated since 2007, funded largely through voluntary contributions from user states and the shipping industry rather than compulsory tolls, to support navigational safety and environmental protection in the busy waterway.

“It’s learning from something that already exists, that is being tested,” he explains, adding that the aim is to find practical solutions to the crisis triggered by regional conflict, and that he intends to present various options to IMO member states “to see what is viable”.