Cyprus is to establish an independent coast guard, consolidating the country’s fragmented maritime surveillance capabilities under a single service headquartered at the Andreas Papandreou Base in Paphos, after Cabinet approved the proposal yesterday.
Justice and Public Order Minister Costas Fytiris presented the proposal, which sets out the operational model for the new service and the units to be consolidated under its authority. Legislation will be sent to Parliament to enable the transfer of services currently sitting under other ministries.
The Coast Guard will take on full responsibility for surveillance, control and law enforcement from the coastline to the limits of Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone and Search and Rescue region. For the first time, it will bring together capabilities currently scattered across several ministries: the Police Marine Unit, the Police Helicopter Squadron, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Hydrographic Service and other related bodies.
A committee drawn from the departments involved will be established to manage a smooth and rapid transition. Upgrade works at the Andreas Papandreou Base will cover both vessel infrastructure and administrative facilities.
The primary goal, Fytiris said, is to strengthen the coordination and effectiveness of maritime surveillance and security operations at the lowest possible cost to the state and in the shortest possible time. The minister had signalled the initiative last month following an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue.
The project will be largely EU-funded and led by someone from outside the police ranks — a deliberate signal that the new service is conceived as a civilian-led maritime authority rather than an extension of law enforcement.
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