Four more S. Korean-operated vessels exit Strait of Hormuz

Lead

South Korean-operated vessels have continued to exit the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of last week's ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, according to two separate reports from Yonhap News Agency. The reports, published days apart in late June 2026, cite South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the latest movements, though they contain differing figures on the number of ships and sailors involved.

The first report, dated June 24, says four more South Korean-operated vessels safely passed through the strategic waterway that week. A second report from June 26 says eight vessels exited, but also states that the total number of vessels that have left the region is five — a figure that appears inconsistent with the earlier count. Both stories describe the vessels as sailing normally after transiting the waterway.

Coverage Comparison

Yonhap News, South Korea's leading wire service, reported the events in two separate updates. The earlier report says a total of six ships had departed the region, while the later one puts the cumulative at five. The accounts also differ on the number of sailors aboard the latest departures: 26 in the June 24 report, 37 in the June 26 report. One vessel in each report is stated to be bound for South Korea.

The number of South Korean-linked ships remaining inside the strait also varies: one report says that figure has fallen to 18, the other says five. Similarly, the count of South Korean sailors remaining in the Persian Gulf is given as 108 in one report and 47 in the other, with the higher figure broken down into 75 aboard South Korean-operated vessels and 33 on foreign-flagged ships. The lower figure says 30 sailors remain aboard foreign-flagged ships.

Key Claims

• South Korean-operated vessels exited the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, as stated in both reports.
• The total number of vessels that departed is reported as five in one source and six in the other, though the figures may refer to different time points.
• One vessel in each report is bound for South Korea.
• Tehran agreed to allow vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz without fees for 60 days following the signing of the interim pact — a point carried by both reports.
• Earlier in the week, HMM's 16,000-TEU container ship Daon and the VLCC Universal Glory also exited the area, according to the June 24 report, which includes an earlier departure.
• The June 26 report does not mention these earlier departures, but it does note that 47 sailors remain in the Persian Gulf, including fully 30 aboard foreign-flagged ships.