Non-U.S. persons who pay could also face civil and criminal enforcement liability if payments cause U.S. persons, such as insurers and financial institutions, to violate sanctions.

The Houthis and Somali pirates have cultivated an alliance over the years, with the rebels at times providing technology and military backup.

This new effort does not currently involve U.S. Navy escorts, but rather a coordination process for countries, insurance companies and shipping organizations.

The case is the latest example of how oil traders and shippers are struggling to adjust to the disruption wrought by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Khamenei stressed that Iran has no intention of relinquishing control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that the country plans to implement new legal frameworks for managing the waterway.

"2025 will surely be remembered as the year U.S. tariffs rewrote the global trade playbook," Descartes said in its Top 30 U.S. Ports report released on April 28.

ONE took in $338 million in full-year net profits for the fiscal year, down from $4.24 billion the previous year.

The economist Paul Krugman, a former New York Times columnist, said he believed most analysts had been “far too sanguine” about the effects of a prolonged Hormuz crisis.

The increasingly widespread issues are adding to headaches for producers and traders already grappling with the biggest oil supply shock in history.

In total, Ireland has spent around €755 million on fuel supports in recent months, as the country's fuel prices have surged since the start of the Iran war.