Where things come to a pass

Passing through the Strait of Hormuz gives tense moments to all ships taking the maritime passage even warships elevate their security levels in preparation for the worst.

The Canadian navy calls the strait a “choke point'', referring to its narrowness — just 50 kilometres wide at its narrowest point and 40 metres deep at its shallowest.

Nevertheless, the strait handles 40 per cent of the world's oil transport by sea.

Owing to this strategic importance, the strait has been a cause of tension between Iran and the United States.

Iran has even threatened to close the strait if it were to be attacked by Israel.

Much of the dispute regarding the waterway, however, has been over the definition of territorial and international waters.

Both Iran and Oman claim territorial waters in the strait: Iran to the north and Oman to the south.

“The Strait of Hormuz technically has no international waters [as the] territorial waters actually overlap,'' says Commander Kelly Larkin, Captain of the Canadian warship Calgary, operating in the region as part of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) — a multinational coalition naval task force established under American leadership to combat smuggling for purposes of terrorism and piracy.

The CTF 150 is part of an operation called Enduring Freedom, which was launched shortly after September 11, 2001, to patrol international waters and ensure vessels and tankers travel safely.

Its area of operation extends from the Red Sea down to the Horn of Africa, east to the Gulf of Aden, north to the Gulf of Oman, and to the Arabian Gulf.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty ratified by 157 countries excluding the United States, a country's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coastline.

However, there is no agreed-upon definition regarding territorial waters in the strait.

Iran claims its territory to be 12 nautical miles from an imaginary line (baseline) that connects the starting and end points of the curve the strait makes along its border.

This is known as the baseline argument. The United States, however, defines the territorial waters based on Iran's 12-mile contour of land.

Though Canada adheres to Iran's baseline argument, it is only to be consistent with its claims in the Arctic and not out of support for Iran.

The dispute over territorial waters, though, has led to a loose agreement: a five-kilometre passage, which most ships can use to pass through.

“This international passage gives vessels the ‘right of innocent passage'. That means that we cannot conduct searches or military exercises.

We just go from point A to point B. We can only stop in case of the need to save a life,'' Larkin says.

Most ships that navigate the strait have to answer to the Omani as well as Iranian authorities — both sides assert their claim to the waters.

With the increase in global trade, nations have become more and more dependent on transportation by sea.

It is believed that more than 90 per cent of the world's goods are transported by sea.

Canada's Commodore Bob Davidson, assigned to lead the CTF 150 in a four-month rotation among the members of the coalition, says: “When you look at road and air transport, it is a regulated environment. But on the water, it is the Wild West.

When you think of [the number of] countries and the volume of [maritime] traffic through the Gulf, it is overwhelming.

It is very complex on the water and if you don't work closely with other countries, the issues become more complicated.''

The media are often blamed for exaggerating and sensationalising the tension between Iran and other countries.

From the Canadian navy's viewpoint, there is little tension. “This is their [Iran's] backyard too and we respect that.

We have respectful communication with the Iranians and they are respectful towards us,'' Davidson says.

“No one wants this passage closed. It would be to the Iranians' disadvantage to do that.''