Zakynthos’s most iconic site, the Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach, will remain closed for another year, according to a joint ministerial decision signed on 2 May by the Citizens Protection, Island Policy, and Tourism Ministers.
Following the decision’s publication and a recommendation of President of the Anti-Seismic Protection Agency Efthymios Lekkas, the circulation and approach or anchoring of any kind of vessel and swimming in the area beyond an imaginary line between the north and south ends of the bay is forbidden. Also banned is the approach to the beach from the rocky slope and to the plateau above the beach.
Visitors may not approach the shipwreck within 10 meters from the rocky slope.
The vessel was discovered in 1980 carrying a cargo of contraband cigarettes and ended up at the beach after being washed ashore.
In 2018, the beach was temporarily closed after a landslide, and reopened with restrictions. Another landslide occurred in 2022 following an earthquake, and use of the beach was banned to both locals and visitors, a measure that will be maintained through 2024.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
