The Turkish Cypriot authorities have taken urgent action to stop the oil slick, which is blamed on a faulty power plant Syria Environmental damage is caused along some of the best unspoiled coastlines on the island.
Officials in the northern part of the war-divided country erected a 400-meter barrier near the Karpas Peninsula to prevent oil slicks from reaching its pristine coast.
Turkey said it will also send two ships to collect the spill, while the Greek Cypriot government on the island has asked the European Maritime Safety Agency to provide an oil recovery ship.
Environmental officials in the northern regions occupied by Turkey Cyprus -Only Ankara recognized internationally-that 20,000 tons of fuel oil had leaked from the Syrian factory.
“This is a total disaster for the marine ecosystem,” Cemaliye Özverel Ekinci, head of the Northern Chamber of Environmental Engineers, told the local TAK news agency.
“This problem is not just for Northern Cyprus,” Ekinci said. “We should act with the South.”
The Syrian Electricity Minister told the pro-government Al-Watan newspaper on Monday that the size of the leaked fuel ranged from 2 tons to 4 tons.
He added that a committee has been set up to investigate the cause.
Erol Adalier, the director of the Northern Diving Center, said that the oil slick is approaching the Karpas Peninsula in the northeast of the island-a wild area with sandy beaches and verdant hills.
He added that the oil had reached less than 20 miles from the coast on Tuesday morning and was getting closer.
Local officials said that Turkey has sent a team to assess the situation and prepare to respond.
“Even if it passes by us, it will affect Turkey,” said Fikri Ataoğlu, Minister of Tourism and Environment of the North.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974.
The government of the Republic of Southern Cyprus, a member of the European Union, said on Tuesday that it had found no signs of oil spills in areas under its control and expressed its willingness to help the northern authorities solve any pollution problems.
“Unfortunately… we have not received any information or any response from the authorities of the illegal regime, so we remain vigilant,” Environment Minister Costas Cadis told the Cyprus News Agency.
The Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus government relies almost entirely on Ankara’s financial and other aid.
