South Korean Government Holds Meeting on Cargo Ship Fire in Strait of Hormuz
Seoul (ANTARA) - The South Korean Presidential Office held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the explosion on a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by HMM Co. in the Strait of Hormuz.
Chief of Staff to the President Kang Hoon-sik and other senior officials attended the meeting, according to Presidential Office Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung. However, no details have been provided regarding what was discussed in the meeting.
The explosion on the ship occurred around 8:40 pm on Monday (4/5) Korean time, while the HMM Namu was anchored in waters off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a statement from HMM on Tuesday.
The fire started in the engine room, and the crew attempted to extinguish it using carbon dioxide for about four hours. No injuries were reported, the South Korean transportation and container shipping company said.
The cargo ship carried 24 crew members, consisting of six South Korean nationals and 18 foreigners. HMM is investigating the cause of the explosion and fire, as well as the extent of the damage to the ship.
“It is still unclear whether the incident was caused by an external attack or internal damage,” an HMM official said.
HMM plans to tow the cargo ship to Dubai, which is expected to take several days. The South Korean government also stated that authorities are working to determine the cause of the explosion and fire.
Meanwhile, on Monday (4/5), US President Donald Trump said that Iran had fired on the South Korean cargo ship and other targets. Trump called on Seoul to participate in the US’s important mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The explosion and fire incident on the HMM cargo ship occurred after the United States launched an operation called Project Freedom to guide stranded commercial ships due to the US-Israel war and confrontation with Iran out of the waterway.
HMM operates five ships in the Strait of Hormuz, including one container ship and two oil tankers.
Source: Yonhap