Announcement of the Deputy Ministry of Shipping regarding the surveillance and safety of the marine environment – The measures taken by the Deputy Ministry – The actions related to the inspection campaign of the Limassol coastline and the patrols in the sea are in progress
The Deputy Ministry of Shipping is aware of the major issue related to surveillance and protection of the marine environment, which requires targeted treatmentand coordinated action, he says in his announcement.
“Certainly, the hasty conclusions and the attempt to assign responsibility by a specific co-competent body will not solve the problem. On the contrary, they make it difficult for the required coordination to effectively deal with any pollution phenomena”.
And the announcement continues, “it is obvious that pollution phenomena do not result from a single factor, since land-based activities, atmospheric pollutants, marine mining and unintentional or intentional discharges contribute to marine pollution much more than shipping activity, without of course that to mean that pollution sources do not differ from region to region”.
According to the data of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), land-based pollution corresponds to about 75% of total marine pollution.
The Deputy Ministry of Shipping, recognizing the dimensions of this serious issue, and studying the problem as a whole, proceeded with the following actions:
1) For the first time, he took the initiative of setting up a committee, by a decision of the Council of Ministers, which he coordinates, with the participation of all co-competent bodies (Deputy Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, Union of Cyprus Municipalities , Cyprus Ports Authority, Port and Maritime Police, Department of Environment, Air Operations Unit) dealing in this way with the chronic problem of the fragmentation of responsibilities, with the aim of effectively preventing, preventing and suppressing any pollution phenomena. The Commission has already mapped the responsibilities and powers of the various agencies, as well as the potential for effective oversight. In addition, it has already collected historical data from recent pollution phenomena to provide an understanding of common pollution sources.
2) Particular emphasis was placed on the bay of Limassol, holding a special meeting convened by the Deputy Ministry on 07/08/2024 with the participation of the competent bodies, among them the Municipality of Limassol and the VSS-EPE/VTS consortium (contracting company that executes the tender of the Municipality of Limassol for the surveillance and suppression of marine pollution), where they unanimously agreed, immediate actions to take specific prevention measures as well as to identify the sources of pollution, which will be taken in the current summer season.
Specifically, the following measures were decided among others:
- To further increase patrols at sea by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research as well as checks on vessels under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Ministry of Shipping.
- The conduct of an inspection campaign of the Limassol coastline by inspectors of the Deputy Ministry of Shipping and the Municipality of Limassol.
- The placement of absorbent dams (Boom) by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research at specific points.
- To determine additional parameters based on which the laboratory analyzes will be carried out to ascertain the type of possible pollution.
- To request the EOA to send the Commission a map of the pipelines that end up in the sea from the land in Limassol Bay.
For the last 2 weeks, the actions concerning in the inspection campaign of Limassol's coastlineand in the patrols within the sea, without detecting any pollution phenomena to date, with the exception of some isolated foam phenomena which are not necessarily pollution. In addition, an absorbent barrier (Boom) has been installed at a point of increased risk while further points are being examined. Also, the Deputy Ministry of Shipping has intensified the controls of coastal vessels.
3) The provisions of the existing Law & Regulations on High Speed Boats, which are potentially a potential source of pollution, have been in force for 32 years. The Deputy Ministry proceeded to modernize the legislative framework and prepared new legislation (“The Recreational Boating in the Republic Law 2024” and draft Regulations entitled “The Recreational Boating in the Republic Regulations of 2024”) which were approved by the Council of Ministers on 24 /04/2024 and were submitted to the House of Representatives on 20/06/2024. The said legislative framework, among other things, expands the scope of the law to all pleasure boats up to 24 meters in length, strengthens the supervisory powers of the competent authority and tightens the penalties including the possibility of out-of-court settlement of offences.
4 ) The Deputy Ministry of Shipping cooperates with scientific bodies and is in the process of utilizing specific technological means, both for the prevention and early detection, but also for dealing with pollution incidents.
Based on the holistic approach and the seriousness that the circumstances require, the Deputy Ministry of Shipping is proceeding in cooperation with the co-competent bodies in the implementation of its integrated strategy, so that both the unpleasant phenomena and the causes that cause them disappear.
Incidents of marine pollution can be reported by name to the 24-hour telephone service of the Deputy Ministry of Shipping on the numbers 25848114, 25848277.
