Bangkok seeks answers from Iran after attack on Thai ship leaves 3 crew missing

2026-03-12 - 10:23

The Thai government lodged a formal protest Thursday and summoned Iranian Ambassador Nassereddin Heidari to seek answers following an attack on a Thai-flagged commercial vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Mayuree Naree, carrying 23 Thai sailors, was hit while traveling from Abu Dhabi to India, leaving at least three crew members missing and raising concerns about the safety of maritime navigation in the conflict zone. Rescue efforts continue for missing sailors Omani naval forces successfully rescued 20 crew members shortly after the attack, while search and rescue operations continue for the three missing sailors believed to have been working in the ship's engine room at the time of the strike. The incident highlights the dangers facing commercial vessels and their crews as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran expands into critical shipping lanes. Thailand expresses grave concern The Thai Foreign Ministry expressed "grave concern" over the escalating Middle East crisis, warning that it poses "serious threats to the lives and safety of innocent civilians in countries in and beyond the region, including Thai nationals." The ministry also cautioned that the conflict was affecting freedom of navigation, a principle of particular importance to trading nations like Thailand that depend on secure maritime routes. Asian nations count their casualties The attack on the Thai vessel adds to a growing toll on Asian nationals caught in the crossfire of the regional conflict. According to Anadolu's tally, at least 16 people from Asian nations have been either killed or remain missing since hostilities began Feb. 28. The victims include four Bangladeshis, three each from Pakistan and India, and one each from China, Nepal, and the Philippines, while three Indonesians remain missing. A fresh group of 34 Thai nationals evacuated from Iran arrived in Bangkok on Thursday after traveling through Türkiye, as the kingdom continues efforts to extract its citizens from the conflict zone. Strait of Hormuz becomes flashpoint The attack comes as Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz since March, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announcing Wednesday that any vessel seeking to pass through the waterway must obtain permission from Tehran. The strategic chokepoint, through which approximately 20 million barrels of oil pass daily, has become a central theater in the expanding conflict that has already claimed some 1,300 Iranian lives, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and drawn in multiple regional and international actors.