Cargo ship at which russian warship fired warning shots located near Bulgarian coast

A cargo ship at which a Russian warship fired warning shots on Sunday is near the Bulgarian seacoast according to maritime traffic monitoring sites.

Reuters reported that Refinitiv shipping data showed the Palau-flagged vessel Sukru Okan was near the coast of Bulgaria and heading towards the Romanian port of Sulina. Russia said the vessel was making its way towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail. 

Reuters said this is the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.

Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Sukru Okan after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection, Reuters said.

On Sunday, the Bulgarian Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, told reporters in the city of Varna that Bulgaria has information about everything that happens in the Black Sea, by air and sea, stressing that the situation is monitored and analysed continuously.