Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Korea begins inspection to uncover cause of damage to vessel in Hormuz
HMM Namu, the cargo ship operated by HMM, is seen during a launch ceremony in Guangzhou, China, in this September 2025 photo. The ship sustained an explosion and fire in the Strait of Hormuz, Monday. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Captured from Korean Register Webzine
By Park Ji-won
A Korean delegation has begun inspecting a Korean vessel that sustained explosion and fire in the Strait of Hormuz after the ship was towed to a port in Dubai Friday.
HMM Namu, the Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by Korean shipping company HMM, arrived at the port of Jebel Ali at 12:20 a.m., four days after the explosion, and was docked there, according to the company and the government.
A joint investigation team comprising inspectors from the Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the National Fire Agency began investigating the cause of the explosion and fire on the ship.
The ship had been stranded in the strait for the past two months, along with some 2,000 other vessels, after the U.S.-Israel war with Iran broke out and Iran blocked the waterway.
The explosion occurred Monday, the same day the United States launched its military operation “Project Freedom” to help guide stranded ships out of the strait. There were 24 crewmembers on board, including six Koreans.
The government has remained cautious as it sets about determining whether the incident was caused by an Iranian attack, as claimed by U.S. President Donald Trump, or an internal malfunction, maintaining that it will prioritize fact-finding efforts.
Immediately after the explosion took place, Trump claimed the ship was attacked by Iran because it attempted to navigate the strait without U.S. protection, calling for Korea's participation in the Project Freedom.
The claim brought a denial by the Iranian Embassy in Seoul, which issued a statement on Wednesday and formally rejected any involvement in the explosion.
However, a day later, Iran’s state-run Press TV released conflicting commentary from its Strategic Analysis Desk, saying the Korean vessel had been targeted.
“Serious warning shots were directed squarely at U.S. warships — a level of direct confrontation that Washington has historically sought to avoid … Furthermore, the targeting of a South Korean vessel that violated the new maritime rules defined by the Islamic Republic served as an unambiguous signal: Iran will enforce its sovereign rights with kinetic action,” the broadcast said.
The embassy rejected this claim, saying it was written by outside contributors and did not reflect the Iranian government’s position or intelligence.