Stricken ship to be towed back to port

THE OWNERS of the Fyser 1, the 2,000 ton cargo vessel which ran into trouble off the coast of Akrotiri on Tuesday night, were last night preparing to tow it back to port.

A tug had been despatched to rescue the Belize-registered vessel from where it was drifting, 25 miles North-West of the Akamas peninsula.

The ten crew members, who were airlifted to safety, had abandoned ship and were in lifeboats when they were picked up by British bases helicopters. All were taken to hospital in Paphos, where they were said to be in good health. They were then taken to a hotel.

The crew told police that the vessel, which had left Limassol harbour bound for Turkey on Monday, had developed engine trouble and started to list 40 miles south of Akrotiri.

There was no word on what cargo the ship was carrying.

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.