A fire broke out on the Wide Trader, a ship sailing under the flag of San Marino, in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania, leaving eight crew members missing, according to infohub.kz.
The blaze started 13 nautical miles, or about 24 kilometers, southeast of the Romanian port of Sulina. The alarm was raised at around 09:00 Astana time on October 15.
There were 12 people on board. According to the report, "four of them are safe, while eight are still considered missing."
A helicopter and a vessel from Romania's maritime rescue agency (ARSVOM) were dispatched to the scene to conduct a search and rescue operation.
Preliminary reports suggest the ship was likely hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle. A day earlier, the YARA J, sailing under the flag of the Comoros, was attacked in the same area.
Over the past two weeks, the number of merchant ships attacked in the Black Sea has reached seven.
After strikes on ports in Ukraine's Odesa region, shipowners began refusing voyages, forcing Ukraine to redirect part of its maritime exports to the Danube.
Analysts at the British firm Ambrey believe Russia is behind the attacks. In their assessment, the Kremlin's goal is to disrupt Ukrainian grain exports.
Military experts also suggest Moscow may be testing NATO's response.