Russian missiles sank a Panama-flagged merchant ship in the Black Sea and damaged two other ships, Nouriel Arauz, the official of the Panama Maritime Administration, announced Wednesday, explaining that the crews of the three ships are safe.
“We know that three (Panama flag) ships were victims of Russian missile attacks,” Nouriel Arauz told reporters, noting that one of these ships “sank and two are still afloat, but they sustained material damage.”
Arauz denounced the Russian Navy’s ban of 200 to 300 ships from different countries from “leaving the Black Sea.” Therefore, regarding ten Panama-flagged ships dedicated to transporting grain were stuck in the Black Sea, with regarding 150 crew members on board.
On February 25, following a first attack on a Panama-flagged ship, the authorities of the Central American country “urgently” asked to avoid sailing in Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black and Azov seas.
The Panamanian Maritime Authority warned that “Panamanian ships in Ukrainian ports or passing through the region should exercise caution and increase security conditions on board to protect the hull and crew.”
