Of the 26 Korean ships that had been stranded inside the Strait of Hormuz in the aftermath of the war in the Middle East, 24 have moved out into safe waters. Two Korean vessels remain inside the strait, but they are staying for their own reasons, including repair work and cargo loading schedules.
"When the war in the Middle East broke out, 146 Korean crew members were aboard our 26 ships inside the strait," Nam Jae-heon, Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, said at a briefing held at the Government Complex Seoul on Tuesday. "Of these, all 24 of our ships that had planned to transit have safely exited the strait."
One ship that passed through the strait the previous day also fully entered safe waters. As a result, the number of Korean ships remaining inside the strait has fallen to two, including HMM's Namu. The Namu has been undergoing repairs at the Port of Dubai since being struck in early May, and is expected to leave the strait after repairs are completed in mid-July. The other ship plans to resume transit in line with its cargo loading schedule.
A total of 35 Korean crew members still remain inside the strait. As of 9 a.m., seven were aboard two Korean ships and 28 aboard foreign ships. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries explained that it is also checking the safety and crew rotation status of Korean crew members aboard foreign ships through shipping companies and associations. However, it added that among these foreign ships are a considerable number that operate only within the Persian Gulf, so not all ships will move out of the strait.
The departure of Korean ships from the strait proceeded in stages. On May 20, the government sent one crude oil carrier through the strait for the first time, and that ship arrived at the Port of Ulsan on June 10. On the same day, one LNG carrier also exited the strait.
The pace of departures accelerated after the signing of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement, when Iran announced transit application procedures on the 19th of last month. Within eight days of the ceasefire agreement taking effect, 21 Korean ships that had planned to transit at the time passed through the strait.
The government has conducted daily checks of each ship's stocks of food, drinking water and fuel, as well as crew rotation status, in preparation for a prolonged closure of the strait. When essential supplies fell below a four-week reserve, it received supply plans from shipping companies to manage them, and operated a 24-hour emergency counseling line and remote psychological counseling for crew members and their families. It also ran a 24-hour remote technical support system through the Korean Register in preparation for possible technical problems during ship operations.
Detour shipments were also carried out to reduce disruptions to the crude oil supply. Together with related agencies including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries supported a plan to transport crude oil to Korea via the Red Sea through Saudi Arabia's Port of Yanbu, starting April 17. So far, 10 crude oil carriers have loaded and transported about 20 million barrels of crude oil, of which seven have completed entry into domestic ports and three are en route to Korea.
"As detailed ceasefire negotiations over 60 days are still ongoing, we will closely monitor the strait's transit and management situation," Nam said. "We will look after the safety of our remaining ships and crew members to the end."
