Gifted patrol boat too big for Mari naval base

A modified yacht formerly owned by the Sultan of Oman, which was gifted to the Republic of Cyprus by the sultanate in 2014, docked at the Larnaca port on Tuesday.

The boat sailed off from Oman a week ago and arrived in Cyprus through the Suez canal.

Although fitted with guns and intended to be used for patrolling Cyprus’ territorial waters, the boat’s hull was deemed too big to fit in the ‘Evangelos Florakis’ naval base at Mari, which is why it ended up docking at the Larnaca port.

The boat is reportedly 61,47m in length and 10,67m wide, while its hull extends to 3.9m. Its top speed is 15 knots.

The ship was brought to Cyprus by National Guard naval officers, escorted by Omani Royal Navy officers, who used the voyage as an opportunity to train the Cypriots on the technicalities of its operation.

According to press reports, the vessel was donated to Cyprus by the Sultan in appreciation of the warm welcome he had received in his November 2013 visit to the island.

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.