Dubai, May 9 (IANS) A South Korean government team continued its investigation Saturday into the cause of a fire aboard a cargo ship operated by Korean shipping firm HMM while it was stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, officials said.

The HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by HMM, arrived at Drydocks World Dubai, the Middle East’s largest ship repair yard, early on Friday (local time) and has since been undergoing an inspection by a government investigation team, reports Yonhap news agency.

The seven-member team, comprising three investigators from the Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal and four experts from the National Fire Agency, has been reviewing voyage data recorder and closed-circuit television footage, as well as testimony from crew members, officials said.

Twenty-five sailors, including six South Koreans, disembarked from the ship following in-person questioning by the government team on Friday and moved to an accommodation facility in Dubai.

The HMM Namu caught fire Monday while stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, the same day the United States launched “Project Freedom” to help stranded vessels navigate through the waterway amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The incident has fuelled conflicting claims over whether the fire resulted from an Iranian attack or an internal malfunction.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back will visit the United States next week for talks with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as the allies seek to discuss a host of pending issues, including the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).

Ahn will make a five-day trip to Washington starting Sunday and plans to hold talks with his American counterpart on Monday (U.S. time), the ministry said. It will be Ahn’s first visit to the U.S. as defence minister.

His visit comes as South Korea is seeking to retake wartime command of its troops from the U.S. and pushing to build nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. support.

–IANS

na/