The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the Russian missile attack on a ship in the Black Sea that was transporting grain from Ukraine to Egypt, calling it "an unprecedented escalation of Russia's illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine."
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement on this issue on the social network X, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Ukrinform news agency.
"Romania strongly condemns Russia’s attack on a merchant ship in the Black Sea. This unprecedented escalation in its illegal war against Ukraine violates international law and threatens global food security. Russia must stop targeting commercial vessels and respect freedom of navigation," the statement said.
According to the publication Romania Insider, a Russian missile hit a ship carrying Ukrainian wheat near Romanian territorial waters, about 55 kilometers from the town of Sfântu Gheorghe.
The Romanian Coast Guard confirmed the incident and provided further information, saying that a maritime surveillance vessel on a patrol and surveillance mission in the area was dispatched to assist the ship. However, no assistance was ultimately required.
According to the publication Splash, the Russians hit the Greek bulk carrier Aya. VRS Maritime Services, a Piraeus-based company, operates the bulk carrier.
Data from maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic shows that the ship left the port of Chornomorsk in Ukraine on Wednesday morning and was hit by a Russian missile in international waters off the Romanian coast. The incident took place in Romania's exclusive economic zone. The bulk carrier is currently anchored off Constanta.
