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BANGKOK: T<\/span>he three crewmen on the <\/span>Thai<\/span>-flagged vessel<\/a> that was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz <\/span>last month have died, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a press conference on Wednesday (Apr 8).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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”.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n The vessel’s owner said last week that human remains had been found<\/a> aboard the cargo ship within the “affected area”, adding that it could not yet confirm the identities or the number of individuals.<\/p>\n Sihasak thanked Omani authorities for their help in rescuing the 20 returned crew.<\/p>\n The United States and Iran agreed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Two ships have passed through the strait since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said Wednesday.<\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n