HMM said May 7 that the towboat, which departed Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates to tow the vessel, reached the area at about 3:30 a.m. Towing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
An HMM official said, “Once the sun comes up, we will begin the towboat operation,” adding that the work is expected to take several hours and that the departure time remains undecided.
After securing the Namu, the towboat will begin towing it to Dubai port, where a repair shipyard is located. Given the distance, the ship is expected to arrive as early as the night of May 7 or early May 8.
The incident occurred at about 8:40 p.m. on May 4 (Korea time), when a fire broke out following an explosion on the port side of the engine room of the HMM Namu while it was anchored north of Sharjah, UAE, inside the Strait of Hormuz.
The Panama-flagged vessel is operated by HMM, South Korea’s largest shipping company. It has 24 crew members aboard: six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals. No injuries were reported.
HMM currently has five ships stuck inside the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf: two crude oil and petroleum product carriers, two bulk carriers and one container ship. The HMM Namu is a bulk carrier.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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