A fire and explosion occurred on Monday aboard a ship operated by South Korean shipping company HMM in the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul announced, according to Reuters.
The government previously said it was verifying reports that the ship, HMM Namu, may have been attacked, Yonhap News reported, citing government officials.
The South Korean ship is “on fire” following an “explosion” that occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, Seoul authorities said.
No casualties were reported, and the authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which, according to HMM, broke out in the engine room of this Panamanian-flagged cargo ship.
There were 24 crew members on board, including six Korean nationals, the company told Reuters.
“Our government will communicate closely with relevant countries on this matter and take necessary measures to guarantee the safety of our ships and crew members in the Strait of Hormuz,” South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Seoul had previously announced that 26 South Korean-flagged ships had been stuck in the strait since the start of the Middle East conflict.
US Army announcement
The US military said on Monday that two US Navy guided-missile destroyers entered the Persian Gulf to break the Iranian blockade and that two US merchant ships transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after Iran said it had prevented a US warship from entering the Persian Gulf.
“Destroyers with missile launchers of the US Navy are currently operating in the Gulf, after crossing the Strait of Hormuz as part of “Project Freedom” (“Project Freedom, nr”). American forces are actively contributing to efforts to restore commercial maritime traffic,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on its account on the X social media platform, referring to the operation announced the day before by President Donald Trump.
“In a first step, two commercial ships under the American flag have successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz and are continuing their journey,” CENTCOM stated, according to international press agencies cited by Agerpres.
Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied that merchant ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz.
“No commercial or oil vessel has crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the last hours, and the statements (…) of American officials are unfounded and completely false”, stated the Revolutionary Guards, in a statement published on their Telegram account.
The US president on Sunday invoked ships belonging to countries “not involved” in this ongoing conflict with Iran and a “humanitarian gesture” and “goodwill”.
The US Central Command also denied on Monday information broadcast by Iranian state media, according to which an American ship was hit by missiles launched by Iranian forces. “No US Navy ship was hit. US forces are supporting “Project Freedom” and imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports,” the post of the US military said.
The United Arab Emirates previously condemned an attack involving two Iranian drones on an oil tanker belonging to state energy company ADNOC.
Since the start of the Israeli-American offensive on February 28, Iran has controlled the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production routinely transits. Washington retaliated by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports.
A truce has been in effect since April 8.
Donald Trump on Sunday spoke of “very positive discussions” with Iran.
