SEOUL, May 11 (AJP) - South Korea on Monday formally condemned a kinetic strike on a specialized cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz after a joint investigation concluded that two airborne projectiles hit the ship.
The confirmation follows a week of uncertainty regarding the Panama-flagged HMM Namu, which was left with a massive hull rupture and an engine room fire after the May 4 strike. The vessel was carrying 24 crew members, including six South Korean nationals.
The foreign ministry said on Sunday that its investigation confirmed the ship was hit on its port side ballast tank by two objects arriving approximately one minute apart. The strike created a rupture five meters wide and seven meters deep about 1.5 meters above the waterline.
"Our government maintains that attacks on privately operated vessels, including the HMM Namu, can neither be justified nor tolerated, and we strongly condemn them," National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac said during a press briefing held at the presidential Blue House in central Seoul.
Wi noted that the pattern of damage and the presence of hemispherical penetration shapes made it unlikely that sea mines or torpedoes were used. One crew member was reported injured in the attack, while the remaining 23 were unharmed.
The 182-meter general cargo ship is operated by HMM Co. and specializes in transporting ultra-heavy loads. Launched in September 2025 at the HPWS shipyard in Guangzhou, China, the vessel operates on non-scheduled routes for heavy-lift cargo rather than standard shipping lanes.
The attribution of the attack has emerged as a point of diplomatic friction as Iranian entities issued conflicting statements. Iran's state-run Press TV has reported that the Revolutionary Guard targeted the vessel, while the Iranian embassy in Seoul denied any involvement in an attack against South Korea.
The Iranian state news agency IRNA published an analysis titled 'Failed Liberation Operation' on May 7. The report claimed that at least two vessels from South Korea and France were struck while attempting to transit the strait under the protection of the United States military.
South Korea's main opposition People Power Party criticized the administration for what it described as a hesitant response. The party accused the government of downplaying the incident and failing to explicitly name Iran as the aggressor despite the claims made by Iranian state media.
Investigators have faced difficulties accessing the engine room to determine the internal cause of the fire due to high concentrations of carbon dioxide. The vessel was towed to a port in Dubai on May 8 for repairs and further forensic analysis of debris recovered from the hull.
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