MARISKS issued a warning to shipping companies on Monday that they had received messages on behalf of Iranian authorities demanding payment of transit fees in cryptocurrency (Bitcoin or Tether) for “customs clearance.”
The message states that after the submission of documents and assessment of the ability to pay, Iranian security services will determine the amount of the fee in cryptocurrency. Only then will the ship will be able to pass through the strait at the appointed time.
MARISKS claims that the messages are fraudulent and were not sent by Iranian authorities. Tehran has not yet commented on the situation.
Hundreds of ships and some 20,000 sailors remain stranded in the Persian Gulf. On April 18, when Iran briefly opened the strait, some ships attempted to pass, but two of them, including a tanker, reported being fired upon by Iranian gunboats. As a result, the ships were forced to return.
MARISKS believes that one of the ships fired upon while trying to leave the strait on Saturday was the victim of fraud. Reuters, which relayed the message to the Greek company, was unable to verify the accuracy of the information or identify which companies received the fraudulent message.
