(ANSAmed) - NICOSIA, APRIL 23 - A draft anti-piracy Bill
adopted on Friday by the Cyprus' Cabinet creates new standards
in combating piracy incidents against Cypriot vessels, by
providing for armed escorts. The Minister of Communications and
Works Efthymios Flourentzos, while speaking to Cyprus News
Agency, said the Bill was ''pioneering and important'', noting
that its approval by the Cabinet and its consequent adoption by
the House of Representatives will turn Cyprus into ''a pioneer
on a global scale'' on the matter.
The Cyprus Shipping Chamber welcomed from its part the
adoption of the Bill, noting that it may provide an answer to
the ''gangrene'' of the phenomenon of Piracy. Flourentzou said
to CNA that the Bill regulates the provision of armed escorts to
Cyprus-flagged vessels, by specially trained and certified
guards. Asked on the way past concerns on behalf of the maritime
administration were surmounted, the Minister said that the
obstacles and concerns were overcome following a long and
coordinated work of all parties involved. All parties addressed
the draft Bill by taking into account the international context
and with an aim to strengthen Cypriot shipping, the Minister
added. He also disclosed that many ship owners were discussing
the problem, exerting pressure in favor of a solution, due to
piracy-related problems in the area of Somalia and the Gulf of
Aden. (ANSAmed).
