[News Today] Namu’s stern faced Iran before the attack

[LEAD]

The government is continuing its investigation into the aerial object that struck the HMM Namu. Now, one key piece of evidence has been confirmed.

It shows where the Korean vessel was at the time, and how it was moving before the attack. This comes from an analysis of the ship’s navigation data.

[REPORT]

It was around 3:30 p.m. on May 4, local time, when HMM Namu was attacked.

That day, it was docked in a location that did not cross the control line set by Iran's military.

Around 2:50 p.m., 40 minutes before the attack,

Namu's bow was facing about 200 degrees towards the United Arab Emirates.

Its stern, the area that was attacked, was in the direction of Iran.

It was around this time that the ship was targeted and plans were being made on which part to strike.

The movement of Namu within the straight has now also come to light.

As the Middle East conflict erupted, the vessel continuously circled inside the Persian Gulf.

Then on April 18th, it headed towards the Strait of Hormuz at full speed.

This was a day after Iran's foreign minister announced that ships could pass through the strait.

The following day, Namu reached waters off Dubai but it suddenly stopped.

This was because Tehran announced the reclosure of the strait.

Some speculate that as ships attempted to exit the strait amid expectations of U.S. Project Freedom,

HMM Namu was made an example.

There is speculation that a precision strike only targeting the engine room was possibly to avoid global condemnation over human casualties.