Deadly sea tragedies accelerate plans for Cyprus coastguard

Local ayia napaFamagustaTop News Deadly sea tragedies accelerate plans for Cyprus coastguard Kavo Gkreko Tragodia Relevant News EU customs overhaul puts online platforms on the hook for imports 6 September 2026 Deadly sea tragedies accelerate plans for Cyprus coastguard 6 September 2026 Mortgage rates: How a decade added €320 a month to repayments 6 September 2026 Ernestos Mousas 6 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The final weekend of August will be difficult to forget in Cyprus. Two devastating tragedies at sea brought grief on both sides of the Green Line and exposed gaps in maritime safety that the Republic of Cyprus is now under pressure to address in the areas under its control. The fatal sinking of boats in rough seas off Cape Greco on Saturday, in which Dimis Mavropoulos died, prompted the government to accelerate plans to establish a Cyprus Coastguard. The project was already under consideration, with the Justice Ministry having prepared and presented a proposal to the Cabinet on 16 March. Cyprus, an EU island state, still does not have a coastguard in 2026, an issue that spans successive governments. One of the key issues highlighted by the Cape Greco tragedy was the absence of an order preventing boats from setting sail while a dangerous and unpredictable spell of severe weather was under way. The weather event was unusual, even extreme, for a Cypriot summer. But as the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent, the state faces growing pressure to respond earlier to warnings and put preventive measures in place. Immediate measures The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a package of interim measures that will remain in place until the Coastguard is established and becomes operational. Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said after the meeting that existing legislation would be amended to allow authorities to prohibit vessels from leaving areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and to require them to move to a safe shelter or port. The Cabinet also approved the creation of an Anchorage Committee, which is to be set up immediately. It will include representatives of the Cyprus Ports Authority, the Department of Environment, the Department of Fisheries, the Marine Police and local authorities, and will be chaired by the Deputy Ministry of Shipping. Hadjimanolis: Government identified gap in supervision Hadjimanolis referred to a meeting held on Tuesday at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre attended by herself, the ministers of justice and public order and agriculture, rural development and environment. The meeting followed the destructive events caused by severe weather in several areas controlled by the Republic on 29 August. Hadjimanolis said participants examined the rules surrounding sailing bans during adverse weather conditions. She said the Deputy Ministry of Shipping, working with all relevant authorities, would prepare either amendments to existing legislation or draft regulations under legislation already in force. The sailing ban would operate on the basis of international coastal navigation conventions and the system used in Greece. As Kleanthis Nikolaidis also explained to Phileleftheros, the ban would be based on the official weather bulletin in force from the Department of Meteorology, including information on wind speed and strength, wave height in individual areas and broader weather conditions. Asked whether the changes could face the same lengthy parliamentary procedure as the Coastguard legislation, Hadjimanolis said the process should be much faster because legislation and regulations already exist. She said the Deputy Ministry was considering regulations under the laws ratifying the SOLAS Convention on Safety of Life at Sea. Similar procedures have been used in the past under coastal navigation legislation, which provides for sailing bans on vessels of 300 units or more. “Using the same procedure, which we believe is faster, we will be able to close the gap that has emerged,” Hadjimanolis said. Coastguard to centralise maritime enforcement Justice and Public Order Minister Costas Fytiris presented his proposal for the creation of the Cyprus Coastguard to the Cabinet on 16 March. The government considers surveillance, supervision and enforcement to be the biggest existing gap in the protection of Cyprus’ coastline. The new Coastguard is intended to bring these responsibilities under one service and end the fragmented system currently in place. Under Fytiris’ proposal, the Coastguard would operate as an independent service and assume responsibility for maritime surveillance, inspections and enforcement from the coastline to the limits of the Republic’s areas of responsibility in the exclusive economic zone and search and rescue region. Its main responsibilities would include surveillance and monitoring of maritime zones and activities, handling policing incidents and protecting navigation, tackling offences including smuggling and human trafficking, protecting offshore installations and the marine environment, and participating in search and rescue operations. The Coastguard would operate throughout all maritime zones for which the Republic of Cyprus is responsible, with powers corresponding to its responsibilities in each zone, including territorial waters, the contiguous zone and the EEZ. Its creation is also intended to tackle the complexity of the current system, under which responsibilities relating to the sea are spread across several services, contributing to coordination problems. The Coastguard is expected to be based at the Evangelos Florakis naval base at Mari. Anchorage rules under review According to Hadjimanolis, the new Anchorage Committee will review existing anchorages approved by the Cabinet as well as other areas where boat owners currently anchor wherever they choose. The government considers the practice disorderly and, in some cases, dangerous. The location where the two vessels sank off Cape Greco is not an officially approved anchorage of the Republic of Cyprus. The committee will seek ways to protect people from anchoring in unsuitable locations that pose safety risks, while also limiting environmental damage caused by uncontrolled anchoring in protected areas. How the Greek system works The Cyprus Coastguard is expected to be based on the Greek model. At the top of the Greek system is the headquarters of the Hellenic Coast Guard, led by its chief and two deputy chiefs. Four main branches operate beneath headquarters: Branch A – Security and policing: maritime policing, border control and crime. Branch B – Shipping: merchant shipping, seafarers and the operation of the shipping sector. Branch C – Ship inspections: ship safety, certification and inspections. Branch D – Administration and e-government: personnel, administration and technical and organisational support. A nationwide network of central port authorities, port authorities, coastguard stations, port sections and posts operates across Greece. When a sailing ban is issued in Greece, vessel operators are required to contact the port authorities immediately for instructions. Hadjimanolis has said publicly that if an operator refuses to comply while conditions are dangerous, no coastguard anywhere in the world could be expected to put its rescuers at risk. In relation to anchorages, when a vessel anchors somewhere that is not an official state anchorage, the relevant authorities issue a NAVTEX. Anchoring in that area is then prohibited. This gives the naval and marine police the authority to approach operators who refuse to comply and make arrests. Kleanthis Georgiadis: How a sailing ban would be issued Former director of the Department of Meteorology “The Department of Meteorology is the competent authority of the Republic of Cyprus, operating under the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, with responsibility for monitoring and managing weather conditions in Cyprus. At sea, its responsibility extends across the maritime area of the Eastern Mediterranean. “The Department produces forecasts based on mathematical and thermodynamic models. Through the Republic of Cyprus, it is recognised by the World Meteorological Organization and serves as the National Meteorological Authority. This matters because its forecasts and warnings can be regarded as certified. “It produces forecasts and warnings, but it is not the authority responsible for enforcing them. At present, the wording of a weather forecast has no effect in terms of prohibiting vessels from sailing. “The bill establishing the Coastguard provides that the Coastguard will be responsible for issuing sailing bans depending on the type of vessel and sea conditions. That important link currently missing between issuing a forecast and giving it enforceable effect will therefore be addressed through legislation. “A relevant sailing bulletin will be issued on the basis of forecasts from the National Meteorological Authority. Using the resources available to it, the Coastguard will even be able to warn vessels moored in sheltered areas about expected sea conditions and instruct them to enter port where required by the warning. “The criteria that should trigger a sailing ban are wind speed and strength, wave height and weather conditions. If there is thunderstorm activity accompanied by a wind field of varying intensity, these would be criteria for the Meteorological Service to issue a warning and for the competent authority to issue a sailing-ban warning.” Glafkos Kariolou: Continuous supervision is essential Glafkos Kariolou specialises in marina and boatyard management and is a diving instructor and sailing instructor with NOK. He was captain of the “Kyrenia II” and “Kyrenia-Eleftheria”. “How can a state such as Cyprus ensure people are safe in Cypriot waters when it comes to weather and natural conditions? “The answer requires us to analyse, identify and eliminate — or at least reduce — the factors creating risk. “But what are the risks at sea? The greatest are human negligence, excessive confidence and lack of planning. Only afterwards do people start looking at the weather conditions. “At sea, we often use a saying attributed to Thales of Miletus: ‘To steer is to foresee’, followed by a rather strange mnemonic: cause, symptoms, prevention, treatment. Both require knowledge, character, culture, discipline and empathy — in one word, education. “So how can a state build this ability to foresee into the minds of its citizens? How can people learn to anticipate what could happen and develop their own action plan after taking as many factors as possible into account? “How will the sea behave? Where will the wind come from and how strong will it be? Do they have an application on their phone capable of providing a week’s forecast for wind direction and speed? Do they understand what Force 3 or Force 6 on the Beaufort scale means, or a south-westerly wind at 225 degrees? Visibility, rain, wave height? “Do they know that the recorded weather bulletin is available on 24-817998, or that, if necessary, they can call 24-802977 and speak to our meteorologists about weather conditions? “If they are divers, do they know where the nearest hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber is? Do they strictly follow no-decompression tables? “Do they know that when anchoring close to shore they need the correct weight and type of anchor for that particular seabed, with sufficient chain followed by rope, giving a total length of at least five times the depth? “No matter how many laws and decrees Parliament and the Cabinet prepare, nothing will be solved without continuous supervision, extremely strict enforcement and penalties. “The causes of an accident: excessive confidence and lack of knowledge. The symptoms: drownings, destruction of the natural environment, pollution and more. “Prevention: education, discipline, knowledge and strict penalties. “And the treatment: greater use of technology, satellite imagery, suitable elevated specialist cameras along the coastline and radar. Even specialist training for maritime court judges who understand the subject. “We also need the gradual creation of a chain — not of marinas, but of access points and shelters for recreational and sports vessels, including places where the boats used by our schools can be kept. “Sea Scouts and nautical clubs must be strengthened. Empathy, discipline and maritime knowledge should be taught from kindergarten. “That is how every vessel will be handled by someone who knows what they are doing.” Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News EU customs overhaul puts online platforms on the hook for imports Mortgage rates: How a decade added €320 a month to repayments Fire breaks out at dump in occupied Koutsoventis TV presenter Sarah Khalifa sentenced to death in major drug case Child benefit expanded to cover 17,000 more families Alliances become new battleground in DISY presidential race Dollar rallies as oil surge revives rate-hike bets Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.