Two Dead in Oil Tanker Fire Off Incheon, South Korea

South Korea’s Coast Guard announced on Friday that two crew members died following a fire aboard an oil products tanker operating in waters off Incheon, located west of Seoul.

The blaze ignited at approximately 10:38 p.m. local time on Thursday aboard the vessel, which has a gross tonnage of 7,000 tons, according to the Coast Guard.

The ship’s crew consisted of 18 personnel: 11 South Korean nationals and 7 foreign nationals. Among them, a man in his sixties and another in his twenties were found unconscious and suffering cardiac arrest. Both were rushed to a nearby port but did not survive.

All remaining crew members were successfully rescued. Their health conditions are stable.

Investigators believe the fire originated in the engine room. It did not spread to the oil storage tanks.

The Coast Guard stated it plans to conduct a formal investigation to determine the precise cause of the fire and assess the extent of resulting damage.

A separate incident involving an unidentified projectile striking an oil tanker occurred in the Strait of Hormuz.