Northern Cyprus Vessel Traffic Service System Launches July 20

Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure announced that the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system will become operational on 20 July in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the project, built by defence contractor HAVELSAN, integrates radar, cameras, automatic identification system (AIS) and automatic identification of ships (OTS) sensors to provide 24‑hour monitoring of maritime traffic between Turkey and the northern Cypriot waters.

The system connects a central control centre in Gazimağusa with monitoring stations at Karpaz, Sadrazamköy, Çayırova and a backup centre in Mersin, Turkey. Data on vessel movements, safety alerts and meteorological information will be transmitted in real time to both centres, enabling the detection of illegal activities, emergencies and accidents. Uraloğlu highlighted that the deployment protects “our blue homeland’s interests” and strengthens Turkey’s presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The launch marks the completion of construction, equipment installation and software integration for the VTS project, which Turkey describes as a sovereign capability to monitor its maritime domain.