Filenews 26 January 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
Hours after his detection in the shallows of Kissonerga, the mystery with the stranded small boat and the absence of any operator or other person associated with it, was finally solved. The Police located in the afternoon the owner of the yacht, as well as a second person who was on board the small boat with him.
This is a person of Asian origin, a permanent resident of Larnaca, who as he reported to the Police had bought the yacht from a British man who had it docked in the fishing shelter in Latchi. The new owner in the morning sailed from there with the aim of transporting the yacht to Larnaca, however under conditions investigated by the authorities and as initially estimated due to lack of knowledge of the sailing procedures, he threw the boat into the shallows.
The owner along with the second person went ashore using the small inflatable with which the boat is equipped and as he mentioned they then went by taxi to Larnaca. He claimed that he intended from tomorrow to proceed with all the procedures for removing the vessel from the site and transferring it for repair to a special unit, paying all the necessary expenses.
The authorities, however, seem to be investigating the case further, since according to the Coast Guard's data, the owner of the vessel did not carry out the necessary procedures to obtain permission to sail from the shelter in which it was docked.
The small yacht-type boat was spotted early in the morning stranded on rocks on the coast of Kissonerga, without anyone on board it and without anyone having informed the port authorities of a need for assistance.
The small boat was spotted by passers-by who informed the authorities. A Coast Guard vessel went to the spot and actually spotted the boat stranded on rocks at a distance of about 30 meters from the beach, at the location "Potima".
No operator or other people were found on the boat, but nearby an inflatable small boat with oars was found on the shore, which directed the officials to investigate its abandonment after the grounding on the way out on the shore.
