The fire aboard our cargo vessel ‘HMM Namu-ho’, which ignited alongside an explosion in the waters near the United Arab Emirates, UAE, within the Strait of Hormuz, has been put out, according to the shipping company’s announcement on the 5th. With uncertain reasons behind the fire, worries are increasing regarding the safety of 160 Korean crew members who are stuck inside the strait.
As per HMM, around 8:40 p.m. the day before, a fire started on the port side of the engine room accompanied by an explosion. The crew utilized onboard fire extinguishers to fight the fire and managed to put it out around midnight, roughly four hours after the incident occurred. A representative from HMM mentioned that the fire is now believed to be under control based on CCTV footage, and they intend to conduct a direct inspection of the engine room later. The vessel had 24 crew members aboard, including six Koreans, but no injuries were reported.
The specific reason for the fire remains undetermined. A representative from HMM stated, “It has not yet been established if the explosion resulted from an external attack or an internal problem on the ship,” and mentioned, “At present, entering the engine room is challenging because of the carbon dioxide released during the firefighting efforts. We intend to tow the damaged vessel to Dubai Port soon and conduct a thorough investigation into the exact cause.”
The Strait of Hormuz, which had appeared to see a minor reduction in military tensions lately, has once again returned to a ‘critical emergency’ situation because of this event. As per the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, 26 vessels associated with South Korea are currently stuck within the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Iran’s closure of the strait. With crew members aboard foreign-registered ships, a total of 160 Korean workers have been unable to leave for more than two months.
These ships had assembled in UAE waters, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, awaiting the opportunity to depart as soon as the strait’s blockade is removed. It was reported that when the fire occurred, the government ordered our vessels in the surrounding areas to quickly head toward Qatar for safety.
jasdooit 
Leave a comment