South Korea sends team to UAE to investigate explosion, fire on vessel in Hormuz

Seoul has dispatched a team to the UAE to investigate the cause of an explosion and fire aboard a South Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, local media reported Thursday.

A special South Korean government team was sent to Dubai to investigate the cause of Monday’s fire aboard the HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by South Korean shipping company HMM Co. The fire, which has since been extinguished, broke out while the vessel was stranded in the conflict-hit strait on Monday, according to the Yonhap news agency.

All 24 crew members on board, including six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals, were confirmed safe.

“At this point, what is needed first is to determine the facts and identify the cause,” a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said. “That is why an investigation team has been dispatched to the scene, and decisions on future responses should come afterward.”

The vessel is currently being towed to Dubai and is expected to arrive at a dry dock for a detailed inspection as early as midnight Thursday local time.

The investigation team includes maritime safety experts from South Korea’s Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal. Authorities are examining several possible causes of the blast, including an internal malfunction or an external strike, though officials said no conclusions have been reached so far.

The Iranian Embassy in Seoul has denied any involvement from the country’s armed forces in the incident that damaged the South Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

Regional tensions have intensified since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to secure a lasting agreement. The truce was later extended by US President Donald Trump without a specified deadline.

Since April 13, the US has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.