A billionaire shipping tycoon says heās willing to pay Iran to cross the contested Strait of Hormuz.
āEven if we had to pay a fee, for me be much better than to have the straits closed,ā Evangelos Marinakis said during the June 2 āTradeWindsā conference in Athens, the Financial Times reported. Marinakis is one of Greeceās largest shipowners, owning the Capitol Maritime Group and its fleet of over 220 vessels.
āFor me, it is better to pay a fee of $100,000 or $200,000, depending on the size of the cargo or the size of the vessel, than to have all this hassle,ā he reportedly said.
Companies like Chevron and Japan-based Mitsui OSK Lines said they are unwilling to pay the potential fees, according to FT. Iran proposed fees that could amount to $2 million per ship last April.
Chevron and Mitsui OSK Lines did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundationās requests for comment.
Another Greek shipowner, George Prokopiou, said nobody should āimpose tolls or any other burden because there are many chokepoints in the world,ā according to FT.
āWeāve always said a tolling system in the strait would be unacceptable. But we donāt say that, the world says that,ā U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 18, The National reported.
āWeāre going to do everything we can to see if we can get one . If we canāt get a good deal, President Trump has been clear ā he has other options,ā he reportedly said.
Gas prices rose to over $4 per gallon on average since the start of the Iran War and may be unlikely to lower several months after the war ends, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported last May.
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