Water sports operators liable for safety

Graham Tait-Cooney

THERE are no official controls on water sports equipment rented out to the public, the Cyprus Mail has learned in the wake of a parasailing accident that left a British tourist seriously injured late last week.

Peter Shapkin, 32, on Friday fell from a height of between 20 and 30 metres into the sea when the rope attaching his parachute to the boat snapped.

He was yesterday still recovering from a broken wrist, two fractured ribs and a compressed fracture of his 12th vertebrae. Water also entered his lungs causing an infection.

Paralimni police said at the weekend a piece of metal at the back of the boat had caused the rope to fray and eventually snap.

They are treating the incident as accidental pending further investigations.

The Department of Merchant Shipping checks boats used for commercial purposes once a year. But there is no authority to check the equipment used for entertainment – such as parasails, water-skis and the like.

Even though the equipment is used for public entertainment, it is not part of the boat and is, therefore, not inspected by a regulatory body.

Serghios Serghiou of the Department of Merchant Shipping told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that, "because the equipment used for entertainment is not a permanent fixture of any boat, it is very difficult to check".

"It is the responsibility of the owner or operator of a boat to check the boat’s safety equipment and the entertainment equipment before it is used."

Although a licence is required to use a boat, whether private or commercial, no extra licence is required to operate a parasail, banana boat, burger ride or water-skis. As long as a boat is seaworthy and permission has been granted by the Municipality for the use of a particular stretch of shoreline, anyone can hire out services to the public.

Serghiou said there were regulations on the safety of equipment, but they spelled out that the operator was liable to ensure it was thoroughly checked before use.

The regulations prohibit the use of worn out or improper equipment, and the use of equipment not in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.