Cyprus beach safety under scrutiny after jet ski crash and lifeguard shortages

Local accidentsafetyTop News Cyprus beach safety under scrutiny after jet ski crash and lifeguard shortages Navagososters Relevant News Cyprus beach safety under scrutiny after jet ski crash and lifeguard shortages 23 August 2026 Police arrest seven in overnight Cyprus crackdown, check more than 1,100 people 23 August 2026 Cyprus temperatures reach 39C as mountain rain possible from Monday 23 August 2026 Ernestos Mousas 23 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Serious questions over safety on Cyprus beaches have resurfaced after a marine accident in the Pernera area, where a jet ski driven by a 17-year-old collided with a towable inflatable water ride, seriously injuring two people, while a series of drownings has again highlighted shortages in lifeguard tower staffing. The two issues are not directly connected. However, a series of incidents within a matter of weeks has exposed different weaknesses in maritime safety, ranging from the supervision of water sports and the use of speedboats to lifeguard vacancies, unmanned towers and limited operating hours. At the same time, the Pernera accident has brought renewed attention to new legislation governing recreational craft, which was passed by parliament in February 2026 but has yet to be fully implemented. The serious accident occurred at midday on 15 August, when a jet ski collided with a towable inflatable carrying five members of the same family. According to the information being investigated by police, the jet ski was being driven by a 17-year-old Greek Cypriot girl, with an 18-year-old also on board. The inflatable was carrying two men aged 48 and 43 and three children aged 13, 11 and seven. The 48-year-old man and his seven-year-old daughter were seriously injured in the collision. The man’s condition deteriorated and he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Nicosia General Hospital in an extremely critical condition. The girl, who suffered a skull fracture, was transferred to Makarios Hospital and showed signs of improvement. The police investigation is now focusing not only on the circumstances of the collision but also on how the jet ski came to be driven by the 17-year-old. Based on the information available so far, the jet ski appears to have been rented to the 18-year-old who, as an adult, could under certain conditions use it even without holding a full operator’s licence. The key issue, however, is that the craft was subsequently allegedly handed over to the 17-year-old. Existing legislation allows a 17-year-old to operate a speedboat only if they hold a learner’s permit and are accompanied by a licensed operator. Preliminary investigations do not indicate that those conditions were met. Police are also examining the actions of the water sports businesses involved in the incident, including whether the required procedure was followed when the jet ski was rented. The law allows an adult to rent a jet ski without holding a full licence, but the business must verify the person’s identity, record their details, provide specific safety instructions and have them sign the relevant binding declaration. The question now is what happens after the jet ski is handed over and whether there is effective supervision to ensure that the person to whom it was rented remains its operator. New legislation still not in force The accident has also highlighted another outstanding issue: the new Recreational Navigation in the Republic Law, passed in February 2026, has yet to be implemented. The law seeks to establish a broader framework for regulating recreational craft and businesses offering maritime activities, largely replacing the older system focused on speedboats. Among other measures, it provides for tighter checks, obligations on businesses, emergency response plans, geographical restrictions on operations, record-keeping requirements and tougher penalties. One striking difference concerns fines for operating a vessel without the required licence. The current fixed penalty is €85.43, while the new framework provides for a €1,500 fine. However, the law can only come into force following a decision by the Council of Ministers and after a series of preparatory steps, including the establishment of approved training schools for vessel operators. No specific date has yet been set for its full implementation. Sources at the Deputy Ministry of Shipping explained that the new framework would not have changed the basic issue in the case involving the 17-year-old, as it also requires a 17-year-old operator to hold a learner’s permit and be accompanied by a licensed person. Lifeguards are a separate safety issue At the same time, a number of drowning incidents have highlighted another beach safety problem involving the staffing and operation of lifeguard towers. The Interior Ministry said in July that 84 of 374 approved lifeguard positions remained vacant. In a later briefing, a ministry official referred to 377 approved posts, 107 of them permanent and the rest seasonal. The biggest problem mainly concerns contracts lasting three or four months. The Cyprus Lifesaving Federation argues that short-term contracts discourage suitably trained people from seeking work as lifeguards. Its representatives say workers are unlikely to leave another job to work as lifeguards for only three or four months. They are therefore calling for more eight-month, 10-month and permanent positions. A second point of disagreement concerns operating hours. The federation is seeking longer coverage during the summer months, particularly in the afternoons when many beaches remain busy. The Interior Ministry acknowledges that vacancies exist but attributes a significant part of the problem to a shortage of sufficiently qualified and certified candidates. Ministry officials have described the current certification system as problematic and announced a new model from 2027, involving certified training providers and separate qualifications for beaches and swimming pools. The ministry has also acknowledged that short seasonal contracts are not particularly attractive and has left open the possibility of reviewing them. The situation in Larnaca illustrates the problem. Only 10 of the district’s 19 lifeguard towers are operating, while 31 lifeguards are employed out of 44 approved positions. On 18 June, two 20-year-old women drowned at a beach in Oroklini where a lifeguard tower was present but was not staffed because of personnel shortages. The fact that the tower was closed has been established. It cannot, however, be said with certainty that the presence of a lifeguard would have prevented the two deaths, although there would have been a greater chance of avoiding the fatal outcome. Another drowning occurred on 15 August at CTO beach in Pyla. A Romanian woman died while her two underage daughters were also placed in danger. The lifeguard tower in the area had been operating, but the lifeguards’ shift ended at 6 pm. The incident occurred about 20 minutes later. The case was used by lifeguards as an argument in favour of extending operating hours. The Interior Ministry says there is no single timetable covering all beaches and that operating hours are set according to visitor numbers, the level of risk and available staff. It has also pointed out that providing 24-hour coverage at every beach is not feasible. In Paphos, eight of the district’s 33 towers remained closed in mid-August because of staffing problems. Different problems, one common question The jet ski accident in Pernera and the problems facing lifeguards are not the same issue and should not be conflated. They do, however, raise a common question over whether the current beach safety system can cope with increased summer activity, when thousands of swimmers, jet skis, speedboats, recreational craft and water sports activities share the same coastal areas. In water sports, attention is now focused on enforcing and supervising the rules, as well as bringing the new legislation into force. For lifeguards, the questions concern vacancies, employment conditions and contract lengths, the certification system and whether current operating hours reflect the conditions actually seen on Cyprus beaches. Dimitris Hadjidemetriou: Illegal operators must also be factored in President of the Cyprus Association of Water Sports Operators The situation on Cyprus beaches is causing serious concern, not only because of increased activity during the summer months but also because speedboats and recreational craft are being used at sea, in many cases, by people without the required experience or even by minors. Illegal operators active in water sports must also be factored into the equation. Those of us who work on beaches every day can see that many vessels operating at sea belong neither to licensed professionals in the sector nor to private individuals using them solely for personal purposes. The activity of illegal operators can be seen in the decline in business for licensed professionals at the same time as the number of vessels at sea has increased. The situation involving unlicensed operators has worsened with the use of the internet. There are also cases in which people rent a package including a sightseeing boat and a jet ski, with the jet ski being towed behind it, or where larger vessels are rented and speedboats are loaded onto them. There are also cases where a speedboat is rented by an adult but soon ends up being operated by a minor. An adult may arrive with his son and ask the licensed operator, “I want to take the boy for a ride on the jet ski, is that OK?” The operator sees that he is an adult, meaning he is entitled to operate the speedboat, has him sign the necessary paperwork, gives him the required safety instructions for himself and others at sea and hands over the craft. Once they are out at sea, they switch places, making an accident possible. Sakis Nikolaou: Serious gaps in swimmer safety Senior lifeguard supervisor at the Limassol Lifeguard Unit At present, 15 of the 24 lifeguard points across Limassol district are staffed. Two of them operate on a shift system from 6 am until 8 pm, covering increased demand during the morning and afternoon hours. These are: LIM 15, Kipos II, opposite GSOLIM 19, Agios Ermogenis, where one lifeguard tower operates At these points, the presence of lifeguards from early morning until late in the evening is considered essential because visitor numbers remain high throughout the day. The 15 open locations are covered by a total of 49 active lifeguards, who are required to deal with a workload that far exceeds the limits of a normal shift. Minimal coverage even in busy areas Despite these efforts, several lifeguard points along the coastline remain either completely closed or severely understaffed. Areas with high tourist numbers provide clear examples where coverage is disproportionately low compared with the number of swimmers: Governor’s Beach: one lifeguard tower in operationLady’s Mile: two lifeguard towersAgios Ermogenis-Kourion: one towerPissouri: one tower In my view, this creates serious gaps in swimmer safety because these beaches receive hundreds of visitors every day while the lifeguard presence is insufficient. At most lifeguard points in Limassol, operating hours are from 10.30 am until 6 pm, leaving no lifeguard coverage in the morning or later in the afternoon. Call for staffing based on visitor numbers Towers should be staffed using shifts based on the actual number of visitors at each beach. For that to be possible, more people need to join the unit. To attract new candidates, the number of permanent lifeguard positions should be increased and 11-month contracts should be created to provide stability and prospects. Beyond staffing levels, substantial improvements are also needed in pay and benefits. We are seeking salary increases for 2025-2027, as well as improved allowances. At present, only permanent 12-month staff are entitled to the Provident Fund. We are calling for it to be extended to other categories to ensure equal treatment. We are also demanding that all our employment rights be safeguarded, including working hours, leave and insurance coverage. Without these incentives, lifeguarding will continue to struggle to attract recruits and staffing gaps on beaches will remain. New lifeguards have joined, but not enough Despite the recent arrival of new colleagues, the total of 49 lifeguards remains insufficient to fully cover Limassol’s needs, particularly during the peak summer period. The main demands remain: More 12-month positionsCreation of 11-month positionsSalary increases for 2025-2027Improved allowances and benefitsExtension of the Provident Fund to other categoriesProtection of all employment rightsRecognition of the contribution and dignity of the profession We call on the state to stop treating lifeguarding as a “seasonal allowance” and invest seriously in protecting Cyprus’s coastline, with respect both for swimmers and for lifeguards themselves. 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