Marina boat owners protest over docking fees, mismanagement
Boat owners at Larnaca marina protested on Saturday, voicing concerns over rising docking fees and the management of the marina. The protesters marched from Larnaca marina to the entrance of Athens Avenue, briefly blocking traffic while chanting slogans and holding banners that read, “The state is pushing us out of Larnaca and Cyprus,” “Corruption and incompetence at Larnaca Marina,” and “You lost the guarantees, we will pay for them.”
The head of the boat owners’ association, Chris Stekas, stated that “we are here today to protest once again about the handling of the state and especially the ministry of transport on the issue of Larnaca Marina.“
He said that Larnaca Marina is currently managed and owned by the ministry of transport, which “chose and entrusted the marina and the port to Kition”.
“It is the ministry that monitored the progress of the major project and encouraged Kition to put in increases,” he said, adding that “it is the same minister who assured us until the last minute that Kition’s projects were proceeding as planned.”
Stekas commented, among other things, on the recent developments with the management of the marina and the port, which passed into the hands of the port authority and the transport ministry after the end of the contract with Kition, saying that the ministry “today promises the municipality, the people of Larnaca and us projects in record time at the marina”.
He spoke of practices that “conflict with the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination” and which, according to Stekas, burden boat owners at Larnaca marina “with double the fees compared to other state-owned berths”.
He added that there is a “failure” by those in power to manage the project properly, saying that “they are asking us boat owners to pay the bills”.
He asked the state and the municipality of Larnaca to stand with ordinary people and “not to burden us with unjustified increases and drive us out”.
He also referred to the request “to immediately carry out absolutely necessary improvement works at Larnaca marina, primarily the dredging of the marina entrance and maintenance of the back docks”.
Stekas said that they want to be part of the discussion on these works and take part in the committees.