The Evangelos Florakis Naval Base () is a

Cyprus Navy The Cyprus Naval Command (, ) (also known as the Cyprus Navy or Cypriot Navy) is the armed sea wing of the Cyprus National Guard. The Cypriot Navy has the primary mission of defending the maritime borders of the Republic of Cyprus, but is curre ...

base, situated on the island's southern coast adjacent to the Vasilikos industrial area and power plant, near Zygi, between

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

and

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

Operations

Prior to 11 July 2011, it was the main location of the Command of the Navy Base and one of the five primary commands (also referred to as sub-commands) of the Navy. It was responsible for overseeing all naval shore installations, facilities and associated personnel. The Command's current status is unclear. The Mari Naval Base in Cyprus is the same as the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base. It was originally known as the Mari Naval Base but was renamed after Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis, who died in a helicopter crash in 2002 while serving as the head of the Cypriot National Guard

Expansion

In an interview with Phileleftheros, in December 2024, President Nikos Christodoulides detailed the government's €14.7 million initiative to enhance the Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos and the Mari naval base. The upgrades are planned to be completed within 18 months and aim to bolster Cyprus' strategic infrastructure while ensuring that both bases remain under Cypriot control. As a component of the EU's joint military development programme ( PESCO), Cyprus designed various upgrades in its defence infrastructure. In 2019 serving Cypriot Defence Minister Savvas Angelides signed a letter of intent with his French counterpart

Florence Parly Florence Parly (; born 8 May 1963) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Armed Forces (France), Minister of the Armed Forces under President of the French Republic, President Emmanuel Macron from 2017 to 2022. A former member of th ...

. Speaking at a news conference, he said the expansion of the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base was linked to a military cooperation deal with EU partner states such as France. It was reported that a new docking area was to be built for larger warships.

Renaming

The base was known for decades as the Mari Naval Base. It was renamed after Lt. General Evangelos Florakis, who was killed in a helicopter crash in July 2002 while serving as the head of the

Cypriot National Guard The National Guard of Cyprus (), also known as the Greek Cypriot National Guard or simply the National Guard, is the military force of the Republic of Cyprus. It consists of air, land, sea and special forces elements, and is highly integrated wit ...

Incidents

In February 2009 a Cypriot-flagged vessel carrying 98 shipping containers of military material including explosives, intended for Syria, was intercepted in the Red Sea; the containers were stored at the Evangelos Florakis base, exposed to sunlight. On 11 July 2011 they exploded, killing 13 people and causing more than €3bn of damage. The Commander of the Naval Base, Lambros Lambrou and the head of the

, Naval Commander Andreas Ioannides, were both killed.

References

External links

OpenStreetMap showing the base and the nearby Vasilikos power station
{{coord, 34.725, N, 33.282, E, format=dms, display=title, dim:1km Cyprus Navy bases Larnaca District