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Officials are preparing to investigate the cause of an explosion and subsequent fire aboard an HMM-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
On May 5, Yonhap reported the Blue House said it had the HMM Namu towed to a nearby port and would dispatch personnel from the Korean Register’s Dubai office, investigators from the Central Maritime Safety Tribunal, and fire-forensics experts from the National Fire Agency to conduct the probe.
When a vessel is ablaze and cannot operate under its own power, tugs move it to the nearest safe port. Authorities say the HMM Namu was rendered unable to sail under its own power by the fire.
Emergency backup generators are operating, and the crew have secured food and drinking water. The 24 crewmembers — including six South Koreans — remain onboard, and their living conditions are reported as stable.
Once a tug is assigned, the HMM Namu will be taken to a port in Dubai. Investigators plan to begin a full examination of the ship and the scene once it is docked.
The agencies the Blue House named — the Korean Register (KR), the Central Maritime Safety Tribunal and the National Fire Agency — are routinely deployed to investigate maritime accidents.
The Korean Register, a full member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), conducts inspections and issues certifications to ensure vessel safety and standards.
The Central Maritime Safety Tribunal, an agency under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, is a quasi-judicial body that determines causes and issues rulings in maritime accidents. The National Fire Agency assists the tribunal with on-scene forensics and investigates causes of shipboard fires.
If investigators determine the fire was caused by an Iranian attack, the incident could produce significant diplomatic repercussions.
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