On Monday, May 4th, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a cargo ship belonging to the South Korean shipping company HMM had caught fire and exploded in the Hormuz Strait.
According to the report from the Yonhap News Agency citing government officials, the South Korean government is verifying intelligence suggesting that the cargo ship, named “HMM Namu,” may have been attacked.
As of now, there are no reports of casualties, and authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. The cargo ship, flying the flag of Panama, had the fire starting from the engine room, as reported by the HMM company.
The company informed Reuters that there are a total of 24 crew members on board, including 6 South Korean citizens.
The US military stated that as part of the related operations, US Navy destroyers and two commercial ships flying the US flag have safely passed through the Hormuz Strait.
In a statement, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed, “Our government will closely communicate with relevant countries regarding this incident and take necessary measures to ensure the safety of our country’s ships and crew in the Hormuz Strait.”
South Korea reported having 26 ships flying the South Korean flag stranded in the Hormuz Strait.
On Sunday, May 3rd, at 19:40, two Iranian drones attacked the “MV Barakah,” a crude oil tanker owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), while it was crossing the strait about 78 nautical miles north of Fujairah, UAE.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Iran’s “piracy behavior,” stating in a declaration that “targeting commercial shipping and using the strait as an economic coercion tool constitutes a ‘piracy behavior’ of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).” The ministry confirmed that no injuries were caused in this incident.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly released a statement in support of the UAE, “strongly condemning the blatant attack launched against the UAE oil tanker passing through the Hormuz Strait,” noting that the attack blatantly violates the international legal principles of freedom of navigation and poses a severe threat to global energy supplies and regional security.