Two South Korean maritime trainees have returned home Tuesday after disembarking from a vessel stranded for about a month in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping ruote disrupted by the ongoing Middle East conflict, local reports said.

Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, are seen on March 11 from northern Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. (Reuters-Yonhap)
Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, are seen on March 11 from northern Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. (Reuters-Yonhap)

The trainees, both students at Mokpo National Maritime University, arrived at Incheon International Airport early Tuesday.

They had been training aboard a commercial vessel in the Persian Gulf. They wanted to return earlier but were unable to secure transport from the vessel. The South Korean government arranged a ship to bring them ashore, allowing them to return after being stuck at sea for weeks.

The total number of South Korean seafarers still aboard more than two dozen ships in the region is now down to 175, with one more trainee disembarking from a South Korean vessel on Monday.

Of them, 138 are on Korean-flagged vessels, while 37 are on foreign ships. Among them are trainees from Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Mokpo National Maritime University and the Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology.


milaya@heraldcorp.com