Five more South Korean-operated vessels exit Strait of Hormuz

PIC/AFP

Five more South Korean-operated vessels have exited the Strait of Hormuz following last week's ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, bringing the total number of vessels that have left the region to 11, the maritime ministry said on Thursday.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the ships safely passed through the strategic waterway and are sailing normally. A total of 21 South Korean sailors were aboard the vessels, with one vessel bound for South Korea, the ministry said.

With the latest departure, the number of South Korean-linked ships remaining inside the strait has fallen to 13, reports Yonhap news agency. The ministry said 87 South Korean sailors remain in the Persian Gulf, including 54 aboard South Korean-operated vessels and 33 serving on foreign-flagged ships.

Under the ceasefire agreement reached with Washington, Tehran has agreed to allow vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz without any fees for 60 days following the signing of the interim pact. Earlier on Wednesday (Kuwait time), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that charging tolls on the Strait of Hormuz will not happen, amid reports that Iran seeks to establish a mechanism with Oman to regulate traffic in the crucial waterway.

Rubio made the remarks during a press availability in Kuwait, reiterating US President Donald Trump's opposition to the idea of Iran imposing a fee on shipping through the strait, which the secretary has called an "international waterway."

Concerns have continued that Tehran could seek to assert its control over the strait, as last week's preliminary peace deal between Washington and Tehran stipulates safe passage of vessels through the waterway "with no charge for 60 days only."

"I think the whole world will be against any mechanism that charges money to use an international waterway. It's that simple. The president's already said that that's not going to happen," Rubio told reporters.

He added, "I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or a fee for the use of the straits. That's not going to happen. The president has been abundantly clear." South Korea and other countries have been closely watching developments in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran all but closed during the war, as they rely on the channel for energy imports.

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