A Panamanian-flagged ship was hit this Friday by a missile in a port in southeastern Ukraine with no record of injuries, reported the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), which issued an alert to the thirty ships under its flag are in waters of Ukraine and Russia.
The Panama Maritime Authority, a country that has under its registry the largest merchant fleet in the world with 8,653 flag ships, issued a notice asking its fleet to maintain maximum vigilance when sailing in Ukrainian and Russian waters, in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The AMP indicated in a statement that “currently in the Port of Odessa there are two Panamanian-registered vessels, and in the area contemplated in the notice to the fleet, there are approximately twenty-eight more vessels.”
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“The Panama Ship Registry (…) is in constant communication with the operators of these ships so that they increase all security measures on board and, as far as possible, move away from this area, to avoid situations that could increase the risk on board the vessels,” said the Panamanian authority.
At least three ships affected, one of them with a Panamanian flag
The Panamanian Authority said that according to the information it handles, “in this armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, at least three vessels have been affected (…) causing serious damage and putting the safety of the crews and the environment at risk.” “.
It is the flag ship of Marshall Island “Yasa Jupiter” with IMO number: 9848132; that of Moldova “Millennial Spirit” with IMO number: 7392610; and the one belonging to the Panama Ship Registry, the ship “Namura Queen” with IMO: 9841299″.
The ship Namura Queen, owned by the company NIKKO KISEN CO., LTD., operated by the company CLEANSEAS SHIPMANAGEMENT, INC., and flagged on April 7, 2020, was hit today, February 25, 2022 by a missile in the stern while waiting to load grains in the Port of Pivdenny (Yuzhny), in Odessa, located in the Southwest of Ukraine”.
The ship’s operating company “confirmed that the ship’s 21 crew members, none of them of Panamanian nationality, are safe,” and that the impact of the missile caused a fire on board that was put out by firefighters at the port facility.
The vessel, which according to unofficial reports may have damaged propeller and rudder blade, is anchored near Yuzhny in the Black Sea.
Russian Navy missiles hit ships
According to the permanent representative of Ukraine to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, the missiles that hit merchant ships “from Romania and Panama” were launched by the Russian Navy. “It is reported that the Russian Navy hit civilian ships with Romanian and Panamanian flags in the Black Sea tbv @United Nations,” the Ukrainian diplomatic representative wrote on his Twitter account, without specifying how many ships were affected or to what extent.
Russia launched an attack on Ukraine on Thursday and according to reports from a senior US Defense Department official, the US had detected the launch of at least 200 missiles since the start of the invasion.
The fighting has already cost the lives of 137 Ukrainians and 316 have been injured, according to the Government of Ukraine; and, in addition, thousands of people have had to flee to western Ukraine or to the neighboring countries of Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
NATO warned this Friday that the objectives of Russian President Vladimir Putin “do not stop in Ukraine” and announced that the Alliance has begun to deploy part of its Response Force to guarantee the protection of each of its members.
EFE
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