South Korean Vessel Damaged In Strait Of Hormuz To Be Towed To Dubai

SEOUL, May 6 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- South Korean shipper HMM Co. has secured a boat to tow the company's bulk carrier to a port in Dubai after an explosion and fire damaged the ship, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a company official on Wednesday.

The damaged Panama-flagged vessel is expected to arrive at a safe harbour as early as Thursday afternoon (Seoul time), the company said. An investigation into the explosion will commence once the vessel arrives, it added.

A fire broke out after an explosion occurred at about 8.40 pm Monday (Korea time) on the ship operating inside the conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz.

Twenty-four crew members, including six South Korean nationals, were on board the ship, but no one was injured by the explosion and subsequent fire, according to the company.

The HMM Namu was anchored in waters off the United Arab Emirates when the incident occurred. Security camera footage showed the fire had been put out, HMM added.

US President Donald Trump claimed the incident was caused by an Iranian attack, while South Korea's foreign ministry said it could only confirm the cause once the ship is towed back to port and inspected in detail.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP