Singapore says it will not negotiate with Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz as a matter of principle because it believes transiting critical waterways is a right and not a privilege.
The Southeast Asian city-state, despite its tiny size, is a shipping superpower. It sits on the Strait of Malacca, the crossroads of major global maritime routes between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and hosts the world’s busiest trans-shipment port, through which 3.1 billion tonnes of vessel arrivals passed in 2024. It is also the world’s largest refuelling point for ships and reported a record 54.9 million metric tonnes of marine fuel sales in 2023.
