Greek water ship reaches Cyprus

A pipeline has been installed to carry water from the ships inland

A tanker loaded with drinking water has anchored off the coast of Cyprus, bringing much needed supplies to relieve the island's chronic shortage.

The tanker contains some 40,000 cubic metres of water supplied by Greece, the first of a series of shipments.

The water will be tested before being fed into the island's main water network later this week.

The project to provide 8m cubic metres by November is costing the government more than 38m euros (£30m).

After four years with no substantial winter rainfall, Cypriot water reserves are at their lowest since 1908.

Every day for the next six months two tankers will leave the port of Elefsina near Athens, bound for Cyprus.

The first tanker arrived late on Monday at an offshore pumping station near the port of Limassol.

An undersea pipeline will take the water as far as the island's distribution network from where it will be distributed to the southern, mainly Greek-speaking part of the divided island.

'Science fiction'

Some 16m cubic metres are needed to bring Cyprus' supplies up to acceptable levels.

The Greek ships are expected to supply Cyprus with half that amount.

Earlier this year, government water engineers dismissed the proposed tanker scheme as "pure science fiction", says the BBC's Tabitha Morgan in Cyprus.

But another spring with negligible rain fall, coupled with the prospect of imposing water cuts in the hotel and tourist districts, forced them to reconsider.