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Work Soon to Commence on Construction of Port Cyprium Marina N35°
21’.9” E033° 39’47.4”
Cyprus Observer chats with Altan Houssien, the inspiration behind
North Cyprus’ prestige new yachting centre
“I have lived and breathed this project
constantly for nearly three years now,” said Altan Houssien in an
exclusive interview with Cyprus Observer. “But now we are reaching
the stage when work on the site can commence, and once the
breakwater is finished we will be able to locate the floating
pontoons and start selling the berths. I anticipate that we will be
seeing the first yachts ‘tie up’ by the end of this year, although
the land based facilities will take longer to be completed.”
A qualified engineer with an HND in
Mechanical Engineering with Underwater Technology from the East
London University, Altan is also a ‘yachtie’ having gained his
Sailing Competence Ticket after night school study with the Royal
Yacht Association at Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire. “We had a
delightful old motor launch which we used for family trips up and
down the River Thames, so I have always been ‘messing about on the
river’ and it seemed natural thing for me to progress to yachting,
to sail under canvass, and of course, once you have started on the
tiller, it gets into the blood. “
Altan, who was born in North London, holds
dual Turkish Cypriot and British nationality, his father being a
Turkish Cypriot and his mother originally coming from Yorkshire,
eventually acquired a 55ft Gulet in Bodrum, The Soli Queen, and in
1990 sailed her to Kyrenia Harbour where she still sits, to be used
by the present owner for hosting leisure cruises. “Soli Queen is
the first and last yacht to have taken part in the East
Mediterranean Yacht Rally, we entered for four consecutive years and
it was a great experience, “recalls Altan, “I don’t understand why
more North Cypriot haven’t taken part since our run, perhaps when
Port Cyprium opens for business, we will see more locals taking part
in an event that brings attention to the need for open waters in the
Mediterranean area.”
“I was living on the gullet at the time and
it was during this period that I realized that on this island,
surrounded by water, there was no real yachting activity. Anywhere
else in the world where there are coastal waters, yachtsmen can be
seen indulging their pastime, either purely for leisure or in
competition with each other, but not in North Cyprus. This is partly
due to the lack of proper marina facilities, which Port Cyprium
Marina will put right, but also because there is a perception that
there are risks for boats visiting North Cyprus due to the negative
propaganda coming from the south of the island. Indeed, any craft
attempting to sail into a marina in the south, having previously
visited North Cyprus, is likely to be impounded and the owner
jailed, charged an fined for entering an ‘illegal port’. This is
unfair and illegal harassment of yachtsmen by the authorities in the
south and must be stopped, so I have set up a petition on the 10
Downing Street website, (www.petitions.pm.gov.uk:80/yachties/)
urging the British Prime Minister to take steps to put an end to
it. I have also written to the European Court of Human Rights in an
attempt to make North Cyprus waters hassle free for all marine
craft.”
The
Registrar,
European Court of Human Rights,
Council of Europe,
F-67075 Strasbourg, Cedex
9th
May 2007.
Re: Freedom of movement of civilian
yachtsmen in and around the territorial waters off the Island of
Cyprus
Dear Sir,
I
write with concern to the ongoing harassment both at the crossing
points between north and south Cyprus and at sea.
On
the 13th day of July 2006, at approximately 12:00 noon, I
the undersigned, holder of British passport, my wife, a TRNC citizen
and my daughter who is studying at Keele University in the U.K.,
also a British citizen, were barred from crossing to the south.
The
excuse cited was that my car had entered the north through an
illegal port of entry. I continue to keep proof of this incident.
The
most worrying incidents are those of harassment at sea which both
the EU and the UN seem not to be able to check. In May of 2005, an
elderly German couple who had anchored off Kyrenia in their
Catamaran were arrested, jailed, had their boat confiscated and
fined by the Greek Cypriot administration when the couple decided to
visit the south. This is just one of many similar events which were
highly publicized.
I
am a sailor and have often represented the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus in the annual Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally
which has visited Northern Cyprus every May since 1990. Amongst
other countries visited by the EMY Rally are Turkey, Syria, Lebanon,
Israel and Egypt. Of all the countries visited, written threats to
sailors participating in the rally not to visit Northern Cyprus are
issued by the Greek Cypriot administration and that anyone who does
is blacklisted, so that if they arrive in the south of the island
they face prosecution. Many Israeli sailors complain that the Greek
Cypriot coastguard have often harassed them well out of the limits
of the Greek Cypriot territorial waters. In June and September of
2006 I sailed to Israel ensuring that my route was planned to be 40
nautical miles off the coast of south Cyprus which meant that my
safety and that of my crew were compromised not to mention the
additional cost and time.
Such acts by the Greek Cypriot coastguard amount to piracy on the
high seas. It may well be that since October 1974 the commercial
ports of Famagusta, Kyrenia and Karavostasi have been closed to
international shipping and any ship visiting these ports may be
contravening International Conventions of Safety and Laws of the
Republic of Cyprus, but surely this can only be imposed on
commercial shipping and not the individual leisure sailor. Surely,
the international ban on shipping into the afore- mentioned ports
only apply to commercial shipping and that any wrongdoing should be
reported to the UN for their action. The Greek Cypriot
administration cannot be allowed to take such actions unilaterally
as this is a direct contravention of the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as set out in
the various Council of Europe Protocols, in particular Freedom of
Movement, Article 2 of Protocol No. 4.
It
is a disgrace that the Greek Cypriots as part of the European Union
should be behaving in such ways not befitting of European principals
but worse that both the U.N. and E.U. are well aware of these
actions and allow them to continue.
Safety at sea for small boats should not be jeopardized for the
selfish fulfillment of political one-upmanship. Furthermore, there
are no laws prohibiting or criminalizing individual yachtsmen, women
and children from visiting the safety of North Cyprus – Freedom of
Movement.
In
closing, as a yachtsman, and it is my firm belief that I write and
speak on behalf of all sailors, I urge your court to take the
necessary action to end such behaviour and intimidation by the Greek
Cypriots, against all sailors in and around the island of Cyprus.
Yours faithfully,
Altan Houssien went on to explain that the
foremost yachting guide book for the Eastern Mediterranean region by
Rod Heikell now has a section devoted to North Cyprus which clearly
explains the difficulties sailors may encounter when visiting here,
plus the steps they can take to avoid any hassle. “The book also
publishes the co-ordinates of the harbours in North Cyprus,
including Port Cyprium Marina, so although we’re not ready to
welcome boats, the facility has already hit the yachting media.”
When asked to give details of the facilities
at the Tatlisu District based marina at Kucuk Erenkoy, Altan (51)
explained that the £12m project, located 30km to the east of
Kyrenia, will have 543 berths available for lease, with fuel,
electricity, fresh water, bunkering, lifting and maintenance
services, all available for home based yachts and visiting craft.
“There will be a Yacht Club and 20 bed guest house on the 25 acre
site, shops including a chandlery, restaurants and bars; then of
course there is Port Cyprium Village, a development of forty seven
luxury villas located either side of the main road.”
“The site is perfect for a marina, now with
good road and air connections and of course now for the first time
in North Cyprus, a full range of international standard services for
the sailing fraternity. Shortly after the Marina opens we plan to
add a spa, tennis courts, a bowls green and a gymnasium.
Furthermore the Port Cyprium complex is close to Korineum Golf and
Country Club, so it will soon become the ultimate sports facility on
the north coast of Cyprus; as is stated in the Environmental Impact
Assessment, this should be a real boost for tourism in the TRNC,
without causing any disruption or environment damage. Indeed” said
Altan, warming to his mission, “Port Cyprium Marina will enhance the
natural beauty of North Cyprus for the benefit and enjoyment of
everyone.”
“So, now we have the draft lease contracts
in place and we have purchased much of the land, the Council of
Ministers decision for the go ahead has been published in the
Official Gazette, a quarry for the breakwater rocks has been
nominated and we’re nearly ready to go! “It’s taken a longtime to
get this far, bureaucracy and red tape have played their part, but
after nearly three years we’re almost there; I know of other similar
projects where it has taken up to eight years from the conceptual
stage to finalization, so we’ve doing quite well to have come this
far.”
Altan Houssien added that income from the
advance sale of 15 year Berthing Leases is now beginning to find its
way to the profit and loss account, with many yacht owners now
signing up to take early advantage of the first major Marina devoted
solely to the international yachting fraternity in North
Cyprus.
You can follow the progress of Port Cyprium
Marina as it heads towards development and completion at
www.portcypriummarina.com
Cyprus Observer- 23rd June 2007
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