Thai Family Awaits News After Ship Struck In Strait Of Hormuz; Three Crew Missing

BAN SAI, Thailand, March 13 (Reuters) - In Ban Sai village, Surin province, relatives of a missing seafarer anxiously await word after a Thai-flagged vessel was struck by two projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.

Sommai Butdee, 58, sits with her relatives and friends, as they wait for news of Sommai's nephew, Panupong Muentan, 27, an engine room mechanic and one of three Thai crew members who remain missing after a Thai ship was hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Ban Sai village, in Surin province, Thailand, March 13, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Under the wooden stilt home where the family has gathered, 58-year-old Sommai Butdee showed a photograph on her phone of her nephew, 27-year-old Panupong Muentan, taken at his graduation from a merchant marine training centre. Sommai, who raised him, said Panupong worked as an engine-room mechanic and went to sea to help the family pay off debts and support a sibling’s education.

Sommai Butdee, 58, and her friend Laaiad Namneewong, 62, who came to comfort her, talk as they wait for news of Sommai's nephew, Panupong Muentan, 27, an engine room mechanic and one of three Thai crew members who remain missing after a Thai ship was hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, at her home in Ban Sai village, in Surin province, Thailand, March 13, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

"He didn’t say much. I wished him a safe journey. He told me, ‘Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing to worry about,'" Sommai recalled of their last meeting in February.

His uncle, Dechawat Ratanapakul, 70, added: "They only went there to make a living, to work. They didn’t know anything about the bigger things happening in the world. We never thought it would turn out like this. His parents and relatives are all sad."

Sommai Butdee, 58, sits with her relatives and friends during an interview with Reuters, as they wait for news of Sommai's nephew, Panupong Muentan, 27, an engine room mechanic and one of three Thai crew members who remain missing after a Thai ship was hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Ban Sai village, in Surin province, Thailand, March 13, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Official Responses And Rescue

Thai authorities have demanded an explanation and an apology from Tehran. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters in Bangkok that Thailand is not a party to the conflict and that the vessel was not carrying anything controversial, saying the ship should have been afforded safe passage.

Sommai Butdee, 58, looks at her mobile phone with her friend Laaiad Namneewong, 62, as they wait for news of Sommai's nephew, Panupong Muentan, 27, an engine room mechanic and one of three Thai crew members who remain missing after a Thai ship was hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, at her home in Ban Sai village, in Surin province, Thailand, March 13, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

In a statement reported by the Tasnim news agency, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the ship was "fired upon by Iranian fighters." The wider tensions involving Israel, the United States and Iran have raised concerns about maritime safety and disrupted commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Twenty crew members abandoned ship in a lifeboat and were later rescued by the Omani navy. The ship’s owner, Precious Shipping, said the three missing crew members are believed to be in the vessel’s engine room.

"I just want to hug him if he survives. I hope he is safe. I would be so happy," Sommai said, expressing the family’s anguish and hope as they wait for news.

(Additional reporting by Chalinee Thirasupa; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Kate Mayberry)