The Cyprus Ports Authority participated in the large-scale exercise called "Tritonas 2022" which took place on Friday, 13 May 2022 in the port area of Vasilikos/Zygios. In accordance with the Authority's obligations arising from the ISPS Code, Regulation 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security, and the Port Security Enhancement Laws 115(I)/2007 providing for the enhancement of port security and related matters, the Cyprus Port Authority conducted the above exercise on the basis of a scenario prepared under the above name, which included a terrorist attack with escalation to SEVESO level at the VTTV port facility.
As part of the exercise, the security services of the port facilities and the relevant government agencies such as the Police, Fire Brigade, Civil Defence and others were fully activated and acted immediately in response to the situation. The coordination by the Cyprus Police was excellent and the large-scale exercise with the participation of the above mentioned services and special teams ended successfully.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Ports Authority who attended the exercise said in his statements the following.
"The Cyprus Ports Authority, as the competent security service of the Vasilikos/Zygi port area and on the basis of its international obligations, participated in the conduct of the large-scale exercise. The action of the competent services is welcomed and commended and we express our special thanks to the leadership of the Cyprus Police Force, Fire Brigade, EMAK and all those involved in this exercise. Through the conduct of the exercise, the Cyprus Ports Authority, in cooperation with the relevant government departments, are updating their relevant protocols regarding the response to emergency situations in port areas so that we are always prepared for the possibility of a real threat situation within our port areas. As the Cyprus Port Authority we closely follow international standards and codes for dealing with such situations and we are constantly upgrading both manpower and technical equipment, through continuous training and education and modernisation programmes consistent with the present and future challenges we face."
The following services were involved in the exercise "Tritonas 2022", apart from the Port of Zygios [CYPRUS PORTS AUTHORITY AND THE 4 PORT FACILITIES - VASILIKOS CEMENT PLANT, L.E VTTV, L.E. SKYRA VASAS, AND L.E. AHK (NAVY)], the Deputy Ministry of Shipping, the Cyprus Police (Larnaca Police Directorate, MMAD, Port and Maritime Police, MAEP), the Fire Service, the Civil Defence and the Ambulance Service, to which the Cyprus Port Authority congratulates for their involvement and response.
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