Restrictions Imposed by the Republic of Cyprus on vessels calling illegally ports in the occupied part of Cyprus

The relevant restrictions have been imposed by an Order of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus issued on 3.10.1974 (P.I. 265/74) which declares the ports of Famagusta, Karavostasi and Kyrenia as closed for all vessels.

The relevant Order P.I. 265/74 has been adopted on the basis of section 25 of the Port Regulation Law, (now section 15(1) of the Cyprus Ports Authority Law 38 of 1973, as amended by Law 28 of 1979).

Section 15(2) of Law 38/73 provides for the relevant sanctions as follows: “The master and / or the owner of a ship which arrives and departs from a port closed for such ship or enters or stays therein in contravention of an Order under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding ten thousand pounds or to both such imprisonment and fine, and in the case of a ship registered in the Register of Cyprus Ships, the Court dealing with the case has the power to order her deletion from the Register of Cyprus Ships”.

The above restrictions were taken in order to uphold and maintain the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over its ports and harbors and due to the fact that safety of navigation could no longer be guaranteed in the area illegally occupied by the Turkish Army since 1974.