00:00It's very, very concerning that fees are being talked about seriously as a solution to the current impasse.
00:06This is an international waterway. It is subject to international law,
00:10and fees are not charged in any other equivalent waterway around the world.
00:16The only other example of this would be the Bosphorus, which is covered by a separate treaty for that seaway.
00:23And so it's a very, very concerning precedent that could be set,
00:28and those who are proposing it should think about the implications elsewhere in the world,
00:33were this to be realized, and other states decided they wanted to impose tolls on shipping.
00:39To your knowledge, has any vessel paid a fee to get through the strait?
00:45There have been reports of fees having been paid.
00:49There was a report in the Financial Times yesterday, I believe,
00:53that said that payments were being required in Bitcoin,
00:56but I've not seen any firm evidence of fees having been paid or tolls being levied
01:01in order for ships to transit.
01:04Bearing in mind that there are very, very few transits happening at the moment,
01:08it's 10 a day compared to 150 in either direction under normal circumstances.
01:15I wanted to ask you, we're more than 24 hours since that ceasefire was declared.
01:20Have you seen any increase in ships getting through the strait,
01:25or any signs that it's gearing up for more ships to pass through?
01:30Not for the time being.
01:31The general mood across the industry is wait and see.
01:36We don't know the conditions that will be set to allow transits to occur.
01:41We don't have an overarching mechanism under international governance
01:45from the International Maritime Organization.
01:47We're getting very, very confusing messages as to what this ceasefire actually entails.
01:52And so while the threat of Iranian attacks against merchant shipping persists,
01:58and that I think is still, given some of the statements of the IRGCN,
02:02a live consideration, shipping is watching to see what happens next.
02:07Are you able to assess the level of disruption that this conflict has created for global shipping?
02:14I think what you find whenever we face one crisis such as this
02:18is that shipping is an incredibly resilient industry.
02:22We've faced crises before.
02:24We've faced crises that are more severe than this historically.
02:27So shipping always ensures that goods are delivered.
02:30And so the global impact on shipping, there have been some disruptions.
02:34There have been reports of disruptions to bunker supplies in certain parts of the world.
02:39But by and large, we've kept delivering the goods.
02:42The main issue is those ships that are currently stuck in the Persian Gulf
02:47and the seafarers on board who are a principal concern.
02:51Realistically, how long could the situation continue,
02:55bearing in mind the crews that are in distress?
02:59Well, the crews are being supplied.
03:02And for the time being, we do have the ability to conduct crew changes
03:06through airports in the region.
03:08So that probably won't be a problem unless the conflict resumes.
03:12The ships are being resupplied.
03:15And so they are able to function.
03:17So I believe that the ships that are stuck there
03:21will be able to continue to operate safely for some time,
03:25notwithstanding the threat of military action, which is ever-present.
03:30Ideally, we want to see this resolved as soon as possible
03:34and a return to freedom of navigation in these waters
03:37because, obviously, it is incredibly distressing for these people,
03:42but also because of the economic impacts of not being able to access
03:4520% of the world's oil and 30% of the world's fertiliser supplies.
03:52You
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