A Korean-flagged ship moored in the Strait of Hormuz is believed to have been hit, and the government is checking whether that is true. There have been no reports of casualties so far.
According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and other relevant authorities on the 4th, at about 8:40 p.m. that day, an explosion and fire occurred aboard the general cargo ship "HMM Namu," which was anchored outside the port limits of Umm Al Quwain inside the Hormuz sea area.
A total of 24 people, including six Koreans, were on board the vessel. The government said, "So far, there are no known casualties."
However, the port side of the engine room of the hull was damaged, and the ship is currently waiting at sea. Regarding this, HMM said, "A fire broke out in the port-side engine room of the bulker with the sound of an explosion, and the crew is extinguishing the fire."
Diplomatic authorities checked whether there were any casualties among Korean nationals, and there were none.
An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a media notice that day, "Whether our ship was hit is currently being checked by the consular country," adding, "At least preliminarily, we confirmed there were no casualties among our nationals." The official also said the exact status of whether the Korean ship was hit, the circumstances, and the extent of damage had not been identified.
Meanwhile, the United States that day launched the "Project Freedom" operation to escort civilian ships trapped in the Gulf (Persian Gulf) through military aircraft and warships so they can exit the Strait of Hormuz safely.
Earlier, U.S. Central Command said on X (formerly Twitter), "U.S. forces are actively supporting the resumption of merchant vessel traffic, and as a first step, two U.S. merchant ships have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz and are sailing safely."