Cypriot marinas in need of modern rules
The need to modernize Cyprus’ marina legislation was raised this week before the House Commerce Committee, with its chairman, Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, declaring his willingness to move forward with a legislative proposal.
He asked the Deputy Ministry of Tourism to prepare, in consultation with the relevant departments and the marina association, and inform Parliament on how to proceed with the modernization of legislation, while putting the draft for the change of legislation before the committee in the next few weeks.
The current legislation dates back to 1977 and contains outdated provisions (given that it governs the operation of marinas built several decades later), with all of the implications for dealing with key issues that arise in the operation of today’s modern marinas in Ayia Napa, Limassol and Larnaca. The law has remained unchanged since then.
As Costas Fytiris, who was present at the committee meeting, explained on behalf of the Marinas Association, a modern law must be created to solve marinas’ problems and give them a chance at survival.
After Easter, the parliamentary committee is expected to meet separately with the association, which will present all of the issues that need to be addressed, and its recommendations will be codified in a proposed law that will include all issues related to the operation of marinas and with a competent authority.
According to those involved, the issue of a single authority for marinas arises because of the dispersion of responsibilities, with critical issues in the day-to-day operation of marinas going unresolved. For example, the discharge of waste from a vessel was not addressed because there was no department with the authority and resources to enforce the law.
Fytiris explained that marinas follow maritime regulations, so the Deputy Ministry of Shipping should be the competent authority. Instead, the marinas were wrongfully transferred to the Ministry of Tourism because of nautical tourism, he noted. He also stated that it was requested in writing that the responsibility of the marinas be transferred to the Deputy Ministry of Shipping.
“We now need to consolidate departments that do related work and make laws so that there is no division of responsibilities,” Fytiris said, emphasizing the importance of making specific decisions.
