U.S., Cyprus reach ship-boarding agreement
The United States and Cyprus Monday concluded a ship-boarding agreement that is part of the Proliferation Security Initiative for partnerships aimed at preventing weapons of mass destruction, WMD delivery systems and related materials from being shipped between countries.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Cypriot Foreign Minister Georgios Iacovou signed the agreement, which will permit either country to confirm the nationality of an American or Cypriot-flagged ship if it is thought to be carrying WMD-related cargo. The agreement also allows either side to authorize its flagged vessel to be boarded, its cargo searched, and even for the vessel and suspect cargo to be detained. The agreement does not apply to third-party vessels.
State Department officials said the agreement is significant because the Cyprus ship registry is the sixth-largest in the world in terms of the gross tonnage of registered ships. Cyprus is also the first member of the European Union to sign such an agreement with the U.S.
The State Department said the reciprocal agreement is designed to send a message to potential WMD proliferators that neither the U.S. nor Cyprus will tolerate the use of its ships for 'proliferation-related trade.'