Drone attack on Panama-flagged ship in Black Sea kills 1, injures 2

Panama’s maritime body activates protocols to investigate the attack

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a Panama-flagged bulk carrier, which as reported by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on Thursday, was headed to a River Danube port to load grain and has hit a mine in the Black Sea, in Odesa region, Ukraine in this handout picture released Dec 28, 2023.

One crew member was killed and two more injured after a drone attack on a Panama-flagged ship in the Black Sea, Panama's Maritime Authority (AMP) said late on Friday.

The AMP said the incident occurred on Thursday and that one of the injured sailors was in serious condition. The ship was able to continue on its course, it added.

The authority added that it has "activated the relevant protocols to gather official information on the incident and maintains communication with the parties involved."

The AMP did not say where the drone attack came from, but advised ships to avoid traveling through Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, to the north.

Panama operates the world's largest ship registry with roughly 16 percent of the global merchant fleet sailing under its flag.