The photo is mesmerizing, but for the wrong reasons: in front of an imposing white rock and a spectacular shipwreck (also “plundered”, with names engraved by tourists), a crowd of people enjoy the Greek sea and sun, some taking selfies at arm’s length from a damaged boat and… icing on the cake – a pile of rubbish.

Conflict between the municipal government and the Ministry of Tourism over garbage collection

But who is responsible for collecting waste at a shipwreck? “This is a very ugly photo, but it was a mistake, an unfortunate moment, this is not the image that prevails on the beach,” says the deputy mayor of Zakynthos kathimerini.gr. Nikitas Spinos and adds: “The municipal authority, however, he is no longer responsible for the management of the site. The Ministry of Tourism is responsible, through a committee he set up to manage the Shipwreck. In fact, the area’s “environmental protection” is also mentioned in the function of the committee. Isn’t garbage in Navagio protected by the environment?”

It should be noted that in December 2021, at the initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, the “Committee for the standard tourist use and protection of the wreck of Zakynthos” was established with the aim of restoring dangerous parts of the beach, creating a fence in hard-to-reach places, etc.

Asked by K who collected the waste prior to the creation of the relevant commission, Mr. Spinos replied that the specific work was done by a municipal officer who, along with others, oversaw the beach on safety issues until the committee took over the ministry.

The ministry, in turn, says that, as it happens in every region of the country, and in Navagio, the responsibility for garbage collection lies with the municipal government. As noted Alexandra PapalyakuPresident of the “Committee for the Exemplary Tourism Use and Protection of the Wreck of Zakynthos” in a letter to the Mayor of the island, Nikita Aretakis: “As you know, the Committee for the Exemplary Tourism Use and Protection of the Wreck of Zakynthos is in charge, on the basis of Article 68 of Law 4875/2021 (Α΄250 ) in its application does not cover waste collection, a process that has been and remains the responsibility of the municipal authorities.”

However, in the midst of the tourist season, Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias wants a uniting mood to prevail at this moment and that the issue be resolved immediately at this critical period for the country’s “heavy industry”.

As he stated earlier today on the morning TV show on ANT1: “My role is to connect and I encourage everyone to be able to solve any problems that are – I also understand the municipalities, the difficulties that exist regarding waste. gathering in the islands – let’s all together, collectively, at the national level, look at this effort. These images do not do honor to the country, and I would not want them to be repeated.”

What cruise ship owners say

“K” spoke to him too Dionysus Yatrapresident of the tourist boat consortium “Porto Vromi – Maries” (boats that take visitors to the shipwreck from different parts of Zakynthos), which “ravages” the municipality in the matter of garbage collection.

He told us the following: “We have been cleaning the beach for years. The municipality was absent even before the creation of the committee. Even the committee that just arrived on the island is not doing this. We collect them and transport them on our ships to the port. Sometimes they are also collected by environmental organizations.”

According to Mr. Yatra, the same thing happened with the sad picture, which went around the world. Due to the lack of garbage cans on the beach and the waste management plan, the garbage was eventually collected by the consortium workers.

2018 landslide and creation of three safety zones

In addition to the waste that was found in the “foam” of current events, the issue of the safety of visitors is also important and chronic in the “Shipwreck”.

In the summer of 2018, a landslide of three large rocks on the beach while there were hundreds of visitors resulted in minor injuries to three tourists and the closure of the famous beach for the rest of the season.

In 2019, the beach was reopened with the help of the University of Athens and Eftimi Lekkaits president department Geology from EKPA and his Seismic Planning and Protection Organization (UASP) to present a beach visitor management plan.

In accordance with this, the Shipwreck is divided into three control zones: the first zone is free under certain conditions, the second zone is considered controlled and becomes invisible after heavy rain or earthquake, etc. and the third is the restricted area. and this mainly concerns the point at the cliff.

In a message that kathimerini.gr had with Mr. Lekka, he notes that the considered morphologically “difficult” beach still requires very careful and constant monitoring of the safety zones established by the University of Athens until all restoration work is completed and protective structures are created..

In an interview with K, sources in the Ministry of Tourism noted that restoration work is currently underway on the beach and on the ship, but in any case, it will be some time before this tourist place takes on its final form.

At the moment, only an elementary rope fence has been made around the crash site. Theoretically, the public is forbidden to get too close to the ship, however, as you can see in the photo, some tourists cross the ropes and stand very close to the sheets.

It should be noted that the work of the committee includes the maintenance and restoration of the Shipwreck, of which the wreck is mostly left. On the beach, however, there are already employees of the security company who monitor the whole situation, and the most dangerous point of all is the point at the cliff.

Access from the road was denied after the landslide and also because many people behaved dangerously, acrobating on the edge of the cliff to take pictures. In 2017, a 22-year-old woman from Cuba died on the beach in question when she was standing over a cliff trying to take a selfie…