Entering ports in Nothern Cyprus – punishment is inevitable
9 April, 2015
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Since 1974, under the legislation of the Republic of Cyprus the captain and/or the ship-owner that calls and leaves a closed port, or enters a closed port or stays in it in violation of the Cyprus legislation, is guilty of offense and shall be subject to imprisonment for a term up to two years or a fine of up to 17,000 Euros, or both imprisonment and a fine.
However, the recent sanctions under this Article are gradually reducing. The ship-owners, whose vessel entered a closed port of Northern Cyprus in 2014 applied to Interlegal with the following problem. In the subsequent entry to Limassol, the ship master (a citizen of Ukraine), was detained by the authorities and taken to the police station, where he was appropriately charged. Thanks to the prompt advocacy support provided by the lawyers of Interlegal associated office, the captain was instantly released. According to the local court`s decision, the ship-owner got a fine of 1300 Euros.