The director of the Maritime Authority in Panama, Nouriel Araoz, said on Wednesday that a Panamanian-flagged merchant ship sank by Russian missile fire in the Black Sea, and two other ships were damaged.

He said the crew is fine and in good health.

“We know that three (Panama) boats were attacked by Russian missiles.

He added that one of these ships “sink, and two are floating on his feet, but they sustained material damage.”

The “Russian Navy” bans 200 to 300 ships from different countries from “leaving the Black Sea,” the director of the Panamanian Maritime Authority denounced.

He said that dozens of Panama-flagged boats specifically intended for transporting grain, and about 150 crew members of these ships, are being blocked in the Black Sea.

Panama claims the highest number of ships registered under its flag, with about 8,000 ships representing 17% of the world’s merchant marine fleet.

On February 25, after the 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 at the time that “Panamanian ships in Ukrainian ports or transiting the region should exercise extreme caution and increase security conditions on board to protect the building and crew.”