S. Korea Weighs Hormuz Mission After Ship Explosion

(MENAFN) South Korea's presidential office convened an urgent meeting Tuesday to deliberate over Seoul's "response" to a shipboard explosion and fire aboard a South Korean-operated bulk carrier in the Strait of Hormuz — as US President Donald Trump publicly pressed Seoul to join an American-led naval mission in the increasingly volatile waterway.

The closed-door session, attended by Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and other senior government officials, yielded no immediate public disclosures, according to media. Seoul nevertheless confirmed it is actively pursuing all necessary measures to establish the precise cause and circumstances surrounding the blast aboard the Korean-operated vessel.

"We will be able to determine the exact cause of the incident when inspecting the damage once the ship is towed," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, according to South Korean media.

The incident unfolded late Monday while the HMM Namu lay at anchor off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The fire originated in the engine room, where crew members waged a roughly four-hour battle against the blaze using the vessel's onboard carbon dioxide suppression systems. All 24 crew members — six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals — were confirmed safe.

The root cause of the explosion remains under active investigation. An official with South Korea's HMM Co., the carrier's operator, acknowledged that it remains unclear whether the incident stemmed from an external attack or an internal mechanical failure.

The explosion has broader strategic implications for Seoul: 26 South Korean-flagged ships remain stranded in the strait, compounding pressure on the government to act.

Trump moved swiftly to tie the incident to his administration's broader regional security agenda. Following the explosion, he urged South Korea to join the Hormuz mission, saying "perhaps it's time for South Korea to come and join the mission."

Separately, Iranian state media reported Monday that two missiles struck a US Navy vessel near Jask Island in the Gulf of Oman — a claim the United States firmly and categorically denied.

The backdrop to these developments is one of sustained and deepening instability. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously warned that any vessels violating transit protocols issued by Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz "will be forcefully stopped." That warning came in the wake of US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, which triggered retaliatory action from Tehran targeting Israel and US allies throughout the Gulf, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Since April 13, the US has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic through the strategic chokepoint. A fragile two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8, followed by direct negotiations in Islamabad on April 11–12, though those talks failed to produce a durable truce. President Trump subsequently extended the ceasefire indefinitely at Pakistan's request, without establishing a new deadline.

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