Island Of Cyprus News

President Joe Biden will announce in his State of the Union speech on Thursday that the U.S. military will construct a temporary port on Gaza's Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea, senior administration officials said.Planning for the operation, initially based on the island of Cyprus, does not envisage the deployment of U.S. military personnel in Gaza, the officials told a news briefing.The officials also said that Hamas is delaying a new deal with Israel on…

The president of Cyprus outlined a proposal on Thursday to open a maritime corridor to help deliver more aid to Gaza, a plan which he said could be operational quickly but which diplomats said faced challenges.Under the plan presented by President Nikos Christodoulides at a humanitarian conference in Paris, aid would be sent by sea to Gaza from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the closet European Union member state about 370 km (230 miles) away."We hope immediately to implement it…

Turkey sent a Greek Cypriot research vessel away from what it says is its continental shelf in the Mediterranean on Sunday after it entered the area without permission, Turkey's Defence Ministry said, in a sign of renewed tensions.For decades, Turkey has been at odds with Greece and Cyprus over competing territorial claims in the east Mediterranean, air space, energy, the status of some islands in the Aegean, and the breakaway Turkish state on the divided island of Cyprus.After months of tension last year that sparked fears of direct confrontation between NATO members Turkey and Greece, the two sides agreed in January to resume talks…

A Turkish drillship has left the area where it was operating southwest of Cyprus and reached Turkey's coast for maintenance in a move the European Union said would help ease tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.Refinitiv tracking data showed the Yavuz vessel reached shore and the Energy Ministry said it would now prepare for work in a new location.EU member Cyprus' internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has long been at loggerheads with Turkey over the demarcation of maritime waters and other issues. Turkish vessels began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year.EU leaders last Friday assured Cyprus the bloc would punish Turkey if it continues drilling in disputed Mediterranean areas…

The Turkish drillship Yavuz has left the area where it was operating southwest of Cyprus and reached the Turkish coast, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed on Monday, in a move that may help ease tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.Cyprus' internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has long been at odds with Turkey, which began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year.The Yavuz vessel first began operations east of Cyprus in July 2019. Its latest operations to the southwest of the island, were most recently extended until Oct. 12 in a move which Greece described as provocative.The ship tracking data showed Yavuz as being near the port of Tasucu in Turkey's Mersin province on Monday morning…

A Greek and a Turkish warship were involved in a mini-collision on Wednesday during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, a Greek defense source said, describing it as an "accident".Tensions have risen this week after Turkey sent a survey vessel to the region, escorted by warships, to map out sea territory for possible oil and gas drilling - an area where Turkey and Greece both claim jurisdiction. EU foreign ministers were due to discuss the issue on Friday.The Turkish Oruc Reis survey ship has been moving between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete, shadowed by a number of Greek frigates.

A Turkish drone meant to help seek hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean landed at an airport on the divided island of Cyprus on Monday, a Turkish official said, in a move that could further stoke tensions between Turkey and Greece.The breakaway Turkish Cypriot cabinet on Friday designated the Gecitkale airport on the island as a base for both unarmed and armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the request of the Turkish government, the Demiroren news agency (DHA) said.Cyprus, an EU member, was divided in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Libya's internationally recognized government and Turkey have signed an agreement on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea that could complicate Ankara's disputes over energy exploration with other countries.Turkey, which announced the accord and a deal on expanded security and military cooperation on Thursday, gave no details of their memorandum of understanding and did not specify where Turkish and Libyan waters meet.Greece dismissed the announcement as geographically…

Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades has expressed his government’s determination to protect and further develop the shipping sector as per report in Financial Mirror. The industry employs 4,500 people on the island and Cyprus-based shipmanagement companies manage about 20% of the world’s third-party fleet. The industry currently contributes 7% to the island’s GDP, and with the launch of a new maritime strategy, Anastasiades believes maritime will “contribute significantly”, saying that he is devoted to “safeguarding the sector”. President Anastasiades added that despite the international adverse economic conditions and the financial difficulties that our country faces in the last years…

After acquiring control of Greece's Piraeus Port Authority SA, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), is now bidding to run the port of Limassol on the island of Cyprus, in a bid to extend its reach in the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 14 companies have submitted bids for the commercialisation of Limassol port, the Cypriot Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announced. Among the bids, six submissions were received for the container terminal, three for the marine services and five for the multipurpose terminal. “The commercialisation project now enters its next phase of detailed review and evaluation of the submissions which is expected to last a few weeks,” the Ministry said.

The government of Cyprus will support and bolster growth of the country’s maritime sector, Marios Demetriades, minister of transport, communications and works, said, reports In-Cyprus. “I would like to assure you that the Cyprus government is fully committed to safeguarding the shipping and maritime sector by doing the utmost to guarantee continuous sustainable growth,” Demetriades said. “Our shipping industry has been one of Cyprus’s most successful export services and constitutes a valuable asset,” he said. The industry currently contributes 7% to the island's GDP, and with the launch of a new maritime strategy, Anastasiades believes maritime will "contribute significantly", saying that he is devoted to "safeguarding the sector".

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Friday for an agreement over exploiting hydrocarbon deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that caused the breakdown of peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in October. Greek Cypriots say Turkey sent a research vessel to collect seismic data in disputed waters off the divided island of Cyprus where the Nicosia government was also exploring. The comments came during a visit by Davutoglu to Athens, as part of a two-day annual event to boost ties between the Greece and Turkey, two neighbouring countries have long been embroiled in disputes over territory, energy exploration and Cyprus. "We will continue with the bilateral talks ... we need to go deeper and find a solution.

A small cruise ship, the Orient Queen, has been chartered by the U.S. government to evacuate Americans from war-torn Lebanon and ferry them about 130 miles to the nearby island of Cyprus, the Pentagon announced July 17th. The Lebanese owned cruise ship, which can carry up to 750 passengers, is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday and will be escorted in its evacuation mission by a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Gonzalez. The cruise ship is expected to make its initial evacuation crossing from Beirut to Cyprus later Tuesday. Sources said the ship probably would take the evacuees to the southern coastal port of Larnaca, which is only a few miles from Larnaca International Airport, the island's main international gateway.