Tension as South Korean Tanker Traverses the Strait of Hormuz

“Right now, our oil tanker is passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” said the senior diplomat to members of the National Assembly in Seoul, the South Korean capital. According to AFP, on Wednesday (20 May 2026), the vessel tracking site MarineTraffic shows that the South Korean-flagged tanker Universal Win is on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, near the entrance to the Gulf of Oman, en route to Ulsan in the southeast of South Korea, after departing Mina Al Ahmadi port in Kuwait. Earlier, the South Korean tanker HMM Namu was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Investigations by South Korean authorities confirmed that the vessel was struck by a flying object triggering an explosion and a fire. The South Korean Foreign Ministry confirmed that their ship was struck while it was stopping in the Strait of Hormuz some time ago. A spokesperson for the South Korean Foreign Ministry, Park Il, said the explosion on 4 May caused significant damage to the left side of the stern. The impact caused a fire that damaged an area of 7 x 5 metres, Park said. He added that the incident was unlikely to have been caused by a sea mine or any issue with the ship’s engine, generator or boiler. “We assume the cause of the fire is not related to an internal problem on the ship,” he said. (ita/ita)