24 Korean ships clear Strait of Hormuz; 2 remain

Vice Minister Nam Jae-heon vows to ensure safety of remaining vessels and crew

Two Korean ships and 35 Korean seafarers still in the strait

HMM Namu expected to depart in mid-July; Korean crew on foreign vessels also monitored

A cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. [Reuters/Yonhap]

The number of South Korean ships remaining in the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to two. Of the 26 Korean vessels in the strait when the Middle East war broke out, all 24 that had planned to transit have now safely cleared it.

Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Nam Jae-heon held a briefing at the Government Seoul Complex on Tuesday, saying that as of 9 a.m. that day, two Korean ships and 35 Korean seafarers — including those aboard foreign vessels — remained in the strait.

Seven of those seafarers are aboard Korean-flagged ships, while the remaining 28 are serving on foreign vessels.

Among the two Korean ships still in the strait, HMM Namu is undergoing repairs and is expected to depart after mid-July once the work is complete. The other vessel is set to resume transit as soon as its cargo loading schedule wraps up.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has run an emergency response system for 123 days, led by the vice minister, to monitor the safety of Korean ships and crew. The ministry maintained a 24-hour communication channel with shipping companies and vessels, and shared information with related agencies — including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the National Intelligence Service and the Korea Coast Guard — to track transit conditions.

Nam Jae-heon takes his oath at his inauguration ceremony as the new vice minister of oceans and fisheries on June 22. [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

Nam said that through consultations with relevant countries to support the transit of Korean vessels, 21 ships had cleared the strait following end-of-war negotiations, and that one additional vessel that passed through Monday had fully reached safe waters Tuesday.

The ministry plans to continue monitoring the safety and crew-rotation status of Korean seafarers aboard foreign vessels, as well as those on Korean ships. However, it noted that not all Korean seafarers will leave the strait, as some foreign vessels operate exclusively within the Persian Gulf.

Support for crude oil transport from the Middle East will also continue. Since April, the government has been facilitating oil shipments via Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia, with 10 tankers having transported about 20 million barrels of crude oil to date. Seven of those tankers have already docked at domestic ports, while three are still en route to South Korea.

"We will look after the safety of our remaining ships and crew until the very end," Nam said, adding that the ministry would continue to monitor transit conditions in the Strait of Hormuz together with related ministries as end-of-war negotiations remain ongoing.

adastra@heraldcorp.com