The Korean government said Sunday that a joint investigation team has concluded an unidentified airborne object struck the stern of the Korea-operated bulk carrier HMM Namu near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government team conducted an on-site inspection on Friday and determined that the unidentified object hit the vessel’s rear section on May 4. The ministry said there are limitations in determining the exact type and physical size of the object, adding that additional analysis will be conducted on debris collected at the scene. The Panama-flagged vessel operated by Korean company HMM caught fire after an explosion while anchored off the coast of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. All 24 crew members aboard the ship were reported safe. The incident comes amid heightened security concerns in the region surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route increasingly affected by tensions in the Middle East.
