Cyprus bans private boats ferrying to Lebanon

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus has enforced a ban on pleasure boats ferrying passengers to Lebanon, shipping officials said on Wednesday.

The move comes as local media reported that private boat owners were charging large amounts of money to ferry people out of but also into Lebanon, wracked by sectarian violence and with its international air links cut for the past week.

Since last weekend 34 yachts have sailed from Lebanon to Cyprus, carrying an estimated 340 people, including the ambassador of Saudi Arabia, authorities said. Between 15 and 20 people had left Cyprus for Lebanon on private boats.

Cyprus lies about 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of Lebanon. One media report suggested boat owners at one Cypriot yachting marina were seeking up to $1,500 per trip.

"We have restated that the transfer of passengers on pleasure boats is not permitted for safety reasons," said Yiannis Karidjis, a senior inspector in Cyprus's Department of Merchant Shipping.

"A pleasure boat is a pleasure boat. It is not licensed to carry fee-paying passengers."

The directive applied to vessels from Cyprus to Lebanon and not vice versa, where Karidjis said regulations covering departures was a matter for Lebanese authorities.

Thousands of foreigners fled Lebanon through Cyprus in July 2006 when Israel launched a wave of aerial bombardments after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others.

Lebanon has no regular ferry links with other countries but there are sporadic trips by passenger ferries and cruise ships.

(Writing by Michele Kambas, edited by Richard Meares)