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A South Korean-operated cargo ship was struck by an explosion and fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, with all 24 crew members reported safe, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry announced.
The incident hit the Panama-flagged cargo vessel HMM Namu while it was anchored near the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at around 11.40 a.m. GMT. A fire broke out in the engine room following the blast, officials confirmed.
The ministry said six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals were on board at the time, with no injuries reported so far. Investigators are now working to pin down what triggered the explosion and assess the scale of the damage.
Early reports pointed to a possible outside strike. One local outlet indicated the vessel may have been hit by an external object, though officials have not confirmed that claim.
"It is too early to determine whether it was caused by an external attack," a company official noted. The Foreign Ministry said it had been verifying reports of a possible attack before confirming the explosion.
The incident unfolds against a tense backdrop in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global energy shipments that has been effectively disrupted by recent military escalations.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the vessel was targeted in an Iranian attack, adding that U.S. forces responded by striking seven Iranian fast boats.
He added that no other vessels were damaged and argued that South Korea should step up its support for Washington’s stance on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea, heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy imports, remains particularly exposed to instability in the strait, where a large share of its fuel supply passes through.
At least 26 South Korean-flagged vessels are still stranded in the strait, according to the ministry.
Earlier the same day, Iran claimed two missiles struck a U.S. Navy vessel near Jask Island, though Washington rejected the allegation, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that ships breaching Tehran’s transit rules would be "forcefully stopped."
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