New speedboats Poseidonas 1 and Nireas 1 enter Cyprus Navy.

The Cyprus navy’s new vessels The Poseidonas 1 and the Nireas 1 were presented to the public on January 19, 2020, in an event held at the old port of Limassol called ‘Looking at the Sea’. The ceremony took place at the "Evangelos Florakis" Naval Base, in the presence of the Minister of Defense, Mr Savvas Angelides and the leadership of the National Guard.

The Cyprus navy’s new vessels, Poseidonas 1 and Nireas 1 (Picture source: Cyprus Ministry of Defense)

Chief of the navy Commodore Charalambos Charalambous said the aim of the event was to make everyone aware of the importance of the sea to “the survival of our country and its contribution to our economic growth and to understand our difficulties in a changing environment”.

Our navy is today a dynamic branch of the National Guard, he said which, with its technical development, the education of its personnel and cooperation with other branches helps prevent any harm.

“By looking at the sea we are staring at the future,” Charalambous added.

The two speedboats are Italian made and will significantly enhance the operational capacity of National Guard divers. Their acquisition comes as part of plans to upgrade the National Guard. The new speedboats were made in 2019 and upgraded to the standards of the underwater disaster unit.

The special ceremony was also attended by Defence Minister Savvas Angelides and the leadership of the National Guard.