According to HMM, a government investigation team boarded the vessel at 3 PM KST on May 8 at Drydocks World Dubai, the largest ship repair yard in the Middle East. The team consists of three investigators from the Central Maritime Safety Tribunal and four fire investigation experts from the National Fire Agency.
The investigation will focus on whether the fire was caused by external factors, such as an attack from Iran, or internal issues related to the vessel itself.
The crew members aboard the Namoo will participate in the investigation, after which a decision will be made regarding their disembarkation. An HMM official stated, "It seems that the crew will disembark after participating in the vessel investigation," adding that the exact timing and follow-up actions are still undecided.
Previously, at around 8:40 PM KST on May 4, the HMM Namoo experienced a fire in the engine room due to an explosion while docked north of Sharjah in the UAE, inside the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel, which is operated by South Korea's largest shipping company HMM, is registered in Panama and has a total of 24 crew members, including six South Korean nationals and 18 foreign crew members. There were no reported injuries from the incident.
Currently, five HMM vessels are stranded in the Persian Gulf, including two oil and petroleum product carriers, two bulk carriers, and one container ship. The HMM Namoo is classified as a bulk carrier.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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