Yacht seized from Spanish man disappears from Girne port north Cyprus

A yacht belonging to Spanish yachtsman Garcia, who anchored in Kyrenia old harbour and was sent to prison on the grounds of “unauthorised entry into the country” and then deported, has disappeared.

According to the report by Yeniduzen the yacht in question had been impounded because of a communication problem between Immigration and Customs.

Immigration insisted on receiving an “entry-exit document from customs“. However, Customs, which did not object to the yacht’s departure, drew attention to the court’s order that “the sailing yacht belongs to the accused, therefore it should be returned to its legal owner”, but stated that the yacht, regarding the immigration request, had entered the country illegally, was then detected by the police, and therefore could not issue an official exit document. 

At the time, a friend of the yacht skipper who was given power of attorney to pick up his yacht after he (Garcia) was deported, continued to live “on the impounded yacht moored in the port“.

There are allegations that the yacht was stolen from Kyrenia Harbour and taken to Paphos. The Coast Guard or Immigration has yet to make an official statement regarding these allegations.

The yacht owner, hotelier Federico Garcia, apparently headed for Kyrenia after he spotted it on a chart while sailing in the Mediterranean. He mistakenly assumed that as he was an EU citizen, he could enter Kyrenia port without registering, believing Kyrenia to be in the EU. [Currently, the EU acquis is suspended for North Cyprus].

The yachtsman who spent two days in the port, was noticed after 48 hours and arrested by the police on the charge of “entering the TRNC without permission from immigration” and was taken to court.

Following his court appearance, Garcia, who was sentenced to 15 days in prison, was deported after serving his sentence.

The court ordered that “the sailing yacht belonged to the accused, therefore it should be returned to its legal owner”.

Yeniduzen, LGC News