Thailand summons Iranian ambassador over ship attack

Thailand on Thursday denounced the attack on a Thai-flagged cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and summoned Iran's ambassador, as authorities race to rescue three crew members feared trapped aboard the damaged ship, Report informs via Bangkok Post.

The bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was struck on Wednesday by Iranian projectiles while transiting the strategic waterway without cargo. Of the 23 crew members on board, 20 were rescued by the Omani navy after abandoning the vessel in a lifeboat.

The three missing sailors were trapped in the engine room at the stern, where the ship was hit and a fire broke out, according to its owner, SET-listed Precious Shipping Plc.

Thai diplomats in Muscat are working with Omani authorities on rescue efforts, said Panidone Pachimsawat, representative for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

All Thai vessels have left the Strait of Hormuz, and Bangkok had "protested against the violence done to the commercial ships", Panidone told reporters.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that they had struck the Mayuree Naree, as well as a Liberia-flagged vessel, in the Hormuz strait because the ships had ignored "warnings".