Oil Pollution in the Waters of Cyprus

Conclusions for Part II: National Case Studies

“…Cyprus has, as noted previously, a sub-regional agreement with Israel and Egypt to combat oil spills, and is developing a trilateral agreement with Greece and Israel [21]. Out of seven marine accidents recorded in Cyprus waters (according to the REMPEC Accident database 2004-2014), only two resulted in very small amounts of oil being spilled at sea [22]. A wide range of anti-pollution equipment and materials are available for use in the event of a pollution incident, including dispersants, booms, skimmers, and spraying units, stockpiled at various locations on the island [22].…”

“…A range of gas fields, including Israel's Tamar and Leviathan fields, and Egypt's Zohr field, have been discovered within that Basin (see Figure 4) [40]. The Aphrodite field has confirmed natural gas reserves of 4.54 Tcf and the potential for further discoveries [22]. The Cyprus government is seeking to move away from its energy dependence on imported petroleum towards domestically produced natural gas from the Aphrodite field, although tensions between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey concerning the limits of the EEZ may pose problems for the development of Cyprus's mineral fuel reserves [39].…”

“…The economy of Cyprus is heavily dependent on its marine environment for tourism and has established 6 marine Natura 2000 sites and has in place measures to monitor and protect species such as the Mediterranean monk seal and marine turtles, and to monitor sea caves [38]. The sea and coastal areas have a rich marine environmental heritage and a high level of biodiversity, making it susceptible to long term problems from even a small spill in an ecologically sensitive area [22]. In 2013 significant offshore natural gas deposits were identified in the Aphrodite gas field in its EEZ, to the south of the island, within the Levantine Basin [39].…”

“…An NCP for oil spill response was developed by Cyprus in 1987, and subsequently reviewed in 1997 and 2013. As with other NCPs in the Mediterranean, in the event of a major incident an Emergency Response Centre will be established to coordinate any spill response, including co-operation at sub-regional level if required [22]. Cyprus has, as noted previously, a sub-regional agreement with Israel and Egypt to combat oil spills, and is developing a trilateral agreement with Greece and Israel [21].…”

“…Out of seven marine accidents recorded in Cyprus waters (according to the REMPEC Accident database 2004-2014), only two resulted in very small amounts of oil being spilled at sea [22]. A wide range of anti-pollution equipment and materials are available for use in the event of a pollution incident, including dispersants, booms, skimmers, and spraying units, stockpiled at various locations on the island [22]. While the Republic of Cyprus does not own any antipollution vessels, it does have access to them with the Department of Merchant Shipping being responsible for liaising with EMSA to contract oil recovery services including use of EMSA oil spill response vessels located around the Medi-terranean, one such vessel being based at Limassol [42].…”