A Panamanian-flagged merchant ship was sunk by Russian missile fire in the Black Sea, and two others were damaged, Panama Maritime Authority administrator Noriel Arauz said Wednesday.
The crews are safe and sound, he said.
“We know that three boats (flagged Panamanian) were victims of attacks by Russian missiles,” Mr. Arauz told reporters.
One of these ships “sunk, and two are staying afloat but have suffered material damage”, he added.
“The Russian Navy” prohibits 200 to 300 ships from different nations from “leaving the Black Sea”, denounced the administrator of the Panamanian Maritime Authority.
A dozen boats flying the Panamanian flag dedicated in particular to the transport of cereals, and regarding 150 crewmen of these ships, are thus blocked in the Black Sea, he said.
Panama claims the largest number of vessels registered under its flag, with some 8,000 vessels representing 17% of the world’s merchant marine fleet.
On February 25, following a first attack once morest a ship flying the flag of Panama, the authorities of the Central American country asked “urgently” to avoid sailing in Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
“Panamanian ships in Ukrainian ports or transiting through the area must observe extreme vigilance and increase security conditions on board to protect the building and the crew,” warned the Panamanian Maritime Authority at the time.
