BANGKOK: The three crewmen on the Thai-flagged vessel that was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz last month have died, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a press conference on Wednesday (Apr 8).
US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to respond by effectively closing the strait, a crucial artery for global oil supplies, and launching attacks on vessels.
The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree was struck on Mar 11 while travelling through the Gulf waterway, after departing a port in the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in March that they had struck the Mayuree Naree, as well as a Liberia-flagged vessel, in the strait because the ships had ignored “warnings”.
Twenty Thai crew members returned home in mid-March, while three others had been reported missing and presumed trapped in the damaged engine room of the vessel.
“Unfortunately, the three remaining crew members we found eventually, they lost their lives in the incident,” Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters on Wednesday.
The vessel’s owner said last week that human remains had been found aboard the cargo ship within the “affected area”, adding that it could not yet confirm the identities or the number of individuals.
Sihasak thanked Omani authorities for their help in rescuing the 20 returned crew.
The United States and Iran agreed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire, during which passage through the Strait of Hormuz “will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces”, Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Two ships have passed through the strait since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said Wednesday.
Sihasak said he would travel to Oman in mid-April to seek assistance in coordinating with Iran to secure safe passage for nine Thai ships that are still stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
A Thai oil tanker travelled safely through the waterway late last month and was not required to pay to escape the blockade.
