Cyprus to step up monitoring of seawater off Limassol and deploy drones

Additional measures to combat marine pollution were agreed on Thursday at an expanded meeting in Limassol chaired by Cyprus Deputy Minister of Shipping Marina Hadjimanolis. The meeting was prompted by residents’ complaints about foam, unpleasant odours, as well as unidentified substances and rubbish along the city’s coastline.

The meeting was attended by Limassol Mayor Yannis Armeftis and Amathus Mayor Kyriakos Xydias, as well as representatives of the Department of Environment, the district local government organisation, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research and the Cyprus Ports Authority.

The package of measures was presented by the deputy minister’s adviser on these issues, Angelos Menelaou: stepped-up inspections, the use of drones and the installation of additional equipment on vessels carrying out monitoring. The aim is to achieve a higher level of operational readiness by next summer season and improve coordination between the services.

Hadjimanolis said that Cyprus’s waters are clean, but that there is room for improvement, and that inspections would be stepped up. She also recalled the Council of Ministers’ decision to establish a Coast Guard, which should make it easier to monitor marine areas. Citizens’ complaints will be considered, but they must be accompanied by specific data — otherwise, the source of the pollution cannot be identified.

The mayor of Limassol described the problem as very serious and said residents were outraged. “We demand solutions. Not tomorrow, but yesterday,” Armeftis said. He called for central coordination and a clear division of responsibilities: who coordinates, who conducts inspections, who maintains order and who intervenes. The municipality again proposed creating a rapid-response unit for marine pollution incidents.

The mayor of Amathus stressed that Limassol Bay largely determines the city’s contribution to the country’s economy and that protecting it should be the state’s responsibility. “The greater the pressure on the bay, the higher the risk of pollution,” Xydias warned, adding that action should be based on scientific data. The meeting was not without tense moments, mainly due to a dispute over responsibilities.