Oil Pollution in the Waters of Cyprus

Cyprus is strategically located in the crossroad between three continents and accepts significant marine traffic within its maritime borders. The conflict of the oil transport activity and the high environmental and social capital of the North-Eastern Mediterranean renders the area with high risk for oil pollution. Only seven serious marine accidents have been recorded in the last decade but more than 1,000 possible oil spills were detected in the Levantine Basin through satellite observation systems. The potential increase of oil traffic in the area due to the hydrocarbon discoveries in the region between Israel, Egypt and Cyprus is likely to increase oil spill risks in the near future. To address oil pollution, Cyprus is implementing a National Contingency Plan (NCP) for Oil Pollution Combating where both the private and government sector contributes. Surveillance of accidental and operation oil spills is achieved by aerial and naval means as well as through satellite remote sensing monitoring and oil spill forecasting models. Cyprus has strong socio-economic bonds to the sea and a sensitive marine environmental heritage thus even a small oil spill can have significant environmental, social and economic impacts on the island. To avoid a marine pollution disaster, continuous improvement of the oil prevention and response capabilities of Cyprus is necessary. This can be achieved through investing in monitoring assets, technological innovation and forecasting models.