Severe water pollution has coated the scenic Kato Paphos harbour since Friday, spreading a thick layer of fuel and oil across a large marine area stretching from the waterfront restaurants to the castle square.
The spill has created a distressing scene for local business owners and tourists, prompting a swift mobilization of the authorities to contain and clear the contamination as quickly as possible.
The problem emerged suddenly when restaurant staff and commercial fishermen noticed a black sheen taking over the harbour basin, with large oil slicks clearly visible across the water’s surface.
Initial assessments indicate that the pollution was caused by an infrastructure failure on the land rather than illegal dumping or a malfunction aboard an individual vessel. Specifically, a large Cyprus Ports Authority storage tank located behind the main port buildings, which is used to collect liquid waste pumped from moored boats, suffered a mechanical fault. This malfunction caused the main pipe to discharge its contents directly into the harbour basin.
Competent authorities have launched an intensive cleanup operation to remove the oil and fuel, working to restore the marine environment to its normal state as soon as possible.