Iranian parliament passes legislation to impose transit fees, COSCO Shipping Development hits the daily limit up.

April 7, shipping-related concepts saw volatile gains, with COSCO Shipping Development (601866.SH) hitting the daily limit during the session. China International Marine Containers (000039.SZ), COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation (600026.SH), Anton Holdings (600179.SH), Hua Guangyuanhai (920351.BJ), Xing Tong Shares (603209.SH), China Merchants Nanjiang (601975.SH), and others also followed the rise.

In terms of news, a research report from Huayuan Securities stated that the Iranian parliament passed legislation to officially levy a transit fee on merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, turning the previously temporarily implemented charging mechanism into a formal system. This signals a major escalation in geopolitical tensions.

According to a report from CCTV International News on a recent day, a member of Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Aladin Broujedi, said to the media today (March 30) that Iran plans to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and that once the parliament approves it, the Iranian government will begin implementing it. Broujedi said that countries such as Turkey, Egypt, and Panama will also collect passage fees for ships, “which is an international common practice,” while Iran has provided “discounts” for passing ships for decades.

Also, according to a report from The Straits Times, insiders said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has already started charging “transit fees” to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It will prioritize releasing merchant ships it identifies as from friendly countries, while ships viewed as belonging to hostile blocs may face threats or attacks. Citing a report from Reuters on Thursday (April 2), Bloomberg reported that Iran has drawn up a fairly “official” charging system for passage through the strait and that it has gradually come into the open. Shipping operators must first contact an intermediary company associated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, provide data including the ship owner, registered nationality, cargo manifests, destination, crew rosters, and the voyage automatic identification and authentication system data, and submit it for review by the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Hormuz Province Command to confirm that it is not connected to Israel, the United States, or other enemies identified by Iran.

CITIC Securities said that the outbreak of a conflict between the U.S. and Iran has greatly increased the “energy security” demands of major consuming countries. The asset attributes of tanker fleet holdings have gradually shifted from “low-return, strong-cycle” to “a just-needed strategic asset.” There is still room before full pricing is reached, and in 2026, profits of leading players in the oil shipping industry are expected to hit a new high.

Everbright Securities believes that investors can explore the market around two main themes: “benefiting from high oil prices + performance certainty.” Among these, the broad energy theme includes coal, coal chemical industry, oil and gas, shipping and port operators—industries that directly benefit from rising oil prices.