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Trump continues to call on Korea to join U.S. efforts to reopen Hormuz after HMM Namu explosion

Published: 06 May. 2026, 09:35

MICHAEL LEE
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on May 5. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that the Korean-operated cargo ship HMM Namu was “shot at” by Iran the previous day after Korea decided to “go it alone,” as he kept up his calls to Seoul to join U.S. efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump made the remarks during an event at the White House a day after he wrote on social media that Iran had “taken some shots” at the HMM Namu and other targets.

“[Korea] decided to go it alone, and their ship got the hell knocked out of it yesterday, but [Iran] didn’t shoot the ships that were guarded by [the United States],” he added.

Government officials in Seoul have said the explosion on the ship, operated by the major Korean shipping company HMM, occurred while it was anchored in waters off the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Korean authorities will investigate the exact cause of the incident, but they noted this could only be determined after the ship has been towed to port.

Shipping industry representatives have told the JoongAng Ilbo that the circumstances surrounding the explosion aboard the ship suggest it was not due to a mechanical defect.

“There was an impact, followed by the sound of an explosion, after which flames spread,” Kim Doo-young, the head of the Federation of Korean Seafarers’ Unions, said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “[The incident] does not appear to have been caused by a defect in the vessel.”

Kim noted that the fire originated on the port side of the vessel, meaning the damage could have been “far worse had it broken out on the starboard side, where oil tanks are typically located.”

Jeon Jung-keun, the head of the HMM labor union, speaks to the JoongAng Ilbo during an interview on May 5. [LEE EUN-JI]

Jeon Jung-keun, the chairman of the HMM labor union, said the blaze broke out near the engine room, but the initial impact was not strong enough to breach the hull.

“Fortunately, the engine room did not flood, which helped prevent casualties,” he said.

Kim also said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had “repeatedly broadcast warnings to ships near the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz before the incident, telling them to leave the area,” citing communications with Korean seafarers in the region.

The explosion came as the United States began its “Project Freedom” mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed since the beginning of the conflict with the United States and Israel.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon in Washington on May 5. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Korea and other countries to “step up” to help reopen the strait during a press conference at the Pentagon.

Hegseth pointed out that Trump has said that countries relying on the Strait of Hormuz for energy imports should join efforts to secure the waterway.

“The president was clear in his Truth [Social] message that: ‘Hey, this is your ship. You should take part in helping to defend it.’ We very much hope they do,” he said.

The Pentagon chief’s call for Korea to help reopen the strait added pressure on the Asian country, which relies on the waterway for 70 percent of its crude imports.

The Korean government is currently considering the request, according to sources.

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 4. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Asked if Seoul is in contact with the U.S. military regarding the explosion, Hegseth said U.S. Central Command, responsible for U.S. operations in the Middle East, is in contact with the vessel.

While defending Project Freedom as an operation to restore freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in the strait, Hegseth said the truce remains in place.

“The cease-fire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very closely,” he said.

During the press conference, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said there are currently about 22,500 mariners aboard more than 1,550 commercial vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf due to Iran’s attacks across the region.

Jeon characterized the 160 Korean seafarers trapped in the Gulf as being “effectively being held as prisoners of war” and called on “not only the Korean government but also the international community to recognize the dangers of the Strait of Hormuz and take active steps to bring about an end to the conflict as soon as possible.”

BY KIM MIN-JU, LEE EUN-JI, MICHAEL LEE AND YONHAP [[email protected]]