Simon Tisdall argues that a "war of the sea" is spreading globally, driven by the US and Iran's standoff over the strait of Hormuz, and that it threatens the centuries-old principle of free maritime passage that underpins world trade. He notes that although Washington has historically championed the "free sea" doctrine, Donald Trump's administration has taken an inconsistent stance, at one point suggesting the US could itself impose transit tolls, undermining the very norms it claims to defend.

The piece highlights how the Hormuz precedent is already being copied elsewhere: Houthi militias have begun blockading the Bab al-Mandab strait at the mouth of the Red Sea, striking two oil tankers this week, while Indonesia is debating tolls on the strait of Malacca, through which 22% of global shipping passes. Tisdall warns similar disputes could spread to the Bosphorus and Gibraltar, threatening the roughly 80% of world trade by volume that moves by sea, with the article's title also pointing to tensions extending as far as the North Sea.