An employee of HMM, the operator of the cargo ship that caught fire inside the Strait of Hormuz, talks on the phone at the company headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korea on Thursday maintained a cautious stance over the cause of a recent explosion and fire aboard a Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that a fact-finding investigation must come before reaching any conclusion.
A special Korean government team has been sent to Dubai to investigate the cause of a now-extinguished fire on the HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by Korean shipping firm HMM, while it was anchored in the conflict-hit strait on Monday.
"At this point, what is needed first is to determine the facts and identify the cause," an official at Seoul's foreign ministry 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 and will be moved to a dry dock in Dubai for a detailed investigation.
The ship is expected to arrive in Dubai as early as Thursday midnight (local time).
A team of Korean investigators, including experts from the Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal, has been dispatched to investigate the exact cause of the explosion and fire.
Various theories have emerged over the cause of the incident, with some observers having suggested the blast may have resulted from an external impact, while others have questioned whether the ship was struck externally.
The confusion deepened after Iran's state-run Press TV published a commentary piece implying that targeting a Korean vessel that violated maritime rules could constitute a sovereign right, though it did not provide evidence.
In response, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul said the piece was merely an analytical commentary written by an external analysis desk and not based on confirmed operational records.
Source: Korea Times News
