Paying a Transit Fee Would Have Been Better Than a Strait of Hormuz Crisis　ホルムズ海峡危機なら「通航料を払う方がまし」

VLCC Owner Marinakis Makes Unusual Remark, Revealing Shipowners’ Real Sentiments

TradeWinds Shipowners Forum 2026

VLCC船主マリナキス氏が異例発言、船主の本音浮き彫りに

“In my view, we should have paid the transit fee. It would have been far better than allowing the Strait to become effectively closed.”

Evangelos Marinakis, founder and chairman of Capital Maritime Group, made the remark on 2 June at the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum 2026 held in Athens, Greece.

A Greek shipowner interviewed by Maritime Bridge Japan during Posidonia week on condition of anonymity also stated: “We transited with support from cargo owners and the US Navy. No transit fee was paid to the Iranian side.”

The comment highlighted the high priority that Greek shipowners place on maintaining navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

■ The full article includes the following points (approximately 2,000 words)

→ Major Greek tanker owner Evangelos Marinakis expresses the unusual view that “it would have been better to pay a transit fee”

→ An examination of the realities of war-risk insurance and operating costs faced by shipowners and cargo owners during the Strait of Hormuz crisis

→ What one of the tanker market’s most influential players meant when he said: “I do not want to sail through a battlefield”

→ The role played by cargo owners and relevant authorities, and how operations were managed during the crisis

→ An exploration of the shipping industry’s real concerns as it balances the principle of freedom of navigation against the realities of crisis management

(The full article is available below in English and Japanese. The Japanese version follows the English article.)

ホルムズ海峡危機なら「通航料を払う方がまし」

VLCC船主マリナキス氏が異例発言、船主の本音浮き彫りに

TradeWinds Shipowners Forum 2026

　「私の考えでは、われわれは通航料を支払うべきだった。海峡が実質的な閉鎖状態になるより、その方がはるかに良かった」――。

Capital Maritime Groupの創業者兼会長、エヴァンゲロス・マリナキス氏は6月2日、ギリシャ・アテネで開催されたTradeWinds Shipowners Forum 2026でこう語った。

　Maritime Bridge Japanがポシドニア期間中に匿名を条件に取材に応じたギリシャ船主も、「カーゴオーナーや米海軍の支援を受けながら航行した。イラン側への通航料支払いは行っていない」と証言するなど、ホルムズ海峡の通航に対し、ギリシャ船主の「優先度」の高さを示した。

■記事本文では以下の内容を読むことができます（記事全文約2,000文字）

→ ギリシャ大手タンカー船主マリナキス氏が「通航料を払う方が良かった」と異例の見解を表明

→ ホルムズ海峡危機で船主・荷主が直面した戦争保険や運航コストの実態を紹介

→ 原油タンカー市場の有力プレーヤーが語る「戦場を航行したくない」の真意とは

→ 危機下で荷主や関係当局が果たした役割と現場の対応を解説

→ 自由航行の原則と現実的な危機対応の間で揺れる海運業界の本音に迫る

（続きは英語と日本語で書かれた本文でお読みください。日本語の記事は英文記事に続いて掲載されています）