Disy and Akel seek answers over recurring sea pollution concerns in Limassol

Limassol, Cyprus. Disy and Akel on Friday called on the government to answer concerns over recurring sea pollution in Limassol, seeking greater transparency over laboratory findings and action to identify and tackle possible sources.

The calls followed a broad meeting in Limassol on Thursday chaired by Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanolis, where additional measures were agreed to strengthen inspections and improve responses to marine pollution incidents.

Meeting and local concerns

Hadjimanolis said Cyprus’ waters were clean, while the mayors of Limassol and Amathus raised concerns over repeated pollution incidents. They called on the state to assume its responsibilities and for the roles of the authorities involved to be clearly defined.

Earlier this month, it was reported that sewage was overflowing into the sea at Moni in the Limassol district from the sewerage treatment plant.

Disy requests disclosure of findings

In a statement issued by Disy’s government policy monitoring council, the party’s environment portfolio head Olympia Nisiforou said recent images and complaints from the Limassol seafront had caused “reasonable concern” and required clear answers.

She said it would be neither scientifically nor institutionally responsible to attribute the latest incident to a particular source before laboratory results were available. However, she added that it was equally problematic to treat each case as an unknown or unprecedented event.

“Marine pollution in Limassol has been investigated repeatedly for years,” Nisiforou said, referring to previous studies, sampling, inspections and recorded incidents involving different marine and land-based pressures.

“There is knowledge, there is data and there are previous findings. These must be made public.”

Calls for enforcement and source action

Disy said authorities should disclose what had been detected and analysed, provide full laboratory results and explain how these compared with findings from previous incidents and studies.

The party also requested clarification on potential sources that had been investigated and the evidence used to rule them out or keep them under consideration.

It further sought information on violations recorded over the years and subsequent action, the enforcement of environmental and shipping legislation, and measures to tackle pollution at its source rather than after it reaches the coastline.