Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center

History

The Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center was established by Law 5(III)/94 and started operating on a trial 24-hour basis on the 7th of August 1995 as an independent unit of the Cyprus Air Force Command.

On March 1, 2002 by decision of the Ministry Cabinet the JRCC undertook formally the responsibility for organizing, coordinating and monitoring, search and rescue operations, in the region that the Republic of Cyprus is responsible for.

The JRCC functioned as such until the 26th of July, 2010. Following the relevant opinion of Attorney General for the provisions of Law 5 (III) / 1994 (on Research - Rescue Ratification Act) JRCC reports directly to the Minister of Defence and operates as an independent agency of the Ministry of Defence.

2023 Sudan crisis

The JRCC haδ played a pivotal role for incoming Britons who were evacuated from Sudan by Royal Air Force during the 2023 conflict in processing them and giving them temporary accommodation in the Republic of Cyprus under the national "ESTIA" plan until they were moved to RAF Akrotiri and repatriated to the United Kingdom. The Cypriot authorities were thanked for their help by the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace and later the British High Commissioner to Cyprus, Irfan Siddiq. It also played a role in helping the evacuation and subsequent repatratiation of French and American citizens.

Amalthea initiative

As a result of the Gaza war which re-erupted on October 7 after a Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, due to the offensive in Gaza, it had become increasingly difficult to get aid into Palestinian territories. As such, the Cypriot government proposed the Amalthea initiative, which was aid, starting from Larnaca port being sent to Gaza by sea. The operational concept of the corridor was designed inside JRCC Larnaca by then commander Costas Fitiris, who has been described as one of the architects of the national SAR plans and of Amalthea itself.

After weeks of planning, it was approved by the European Union, the United States and the UAE and began sending aid, with the first ship arriving on March 17. Both Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola visited the JRCC and thanked them for their work in co-ordinating the initiative.

Training activities

The JRCC is also responsible for training and advising other countries on their Search and Rescue skills and plans. In August 2024 the JRCC signed an agreement with Lebanon in order to train its staff on search and rescue procedures and begun training their staff from July 30 to August 2.

Notable commanders

• Costas Fitiris, retired rear admiral of the Cyprus Navy, former commander of JRCC Larnaca and of the Underwater Demolition Command (ΟΥΚ), credited with a key role in the design of national search-and-rescue plans such as Τεύκρος and Αμάλθεια. Since December 2025 he has served as Minister of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus.

Cyprus search and rescue region (SRR)

The Cyprus search and rescue region (SRR) coincides with the Nicosia FIR as described in the current Air Navigation Plan of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Distress frequencies

The internationally established frequencies to be used for Distress and Safety and monitored by Search and Rescue are:

• 518 kHz NAVTEX (Maritime safety information)
• 121.5 MHz International civil aviation distress frequency
• 243.0 MHz International military aviation distress frequency
• 156.8 MHz (CH-16) International maritime call and distress frequency
• 156.525 MHz (CH-70)
• 2187.5 kHz
• 4207.5 kHz
• 6312.0 kHz
• 8414.5 kHz
• 12577.0 kHz
• 16804.5 kHz
• 2182 kHz International maritime call and distress frequency on MF
• 406.025 MHz Transmission frequency of EPIRB, ELT and PLB of the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system

JRCC Larnaca maintains continued monitoring of the following frequencies:

• 121.5 MHz VHF/AM
• 134.0 MHz VHF/AM (Common of Initial Contact with JRCC)
• 243.0 MHz UHF/AM
• 255.0 MHz UHF/AM (Common of Initial Contact with JRCC)
• 156.8 MHz (CH-16) VHF/FM
• 2182 kHz MF/HF

The DSC frequencies mentioned above are monitored by Cyprus Coast Station (Cyprus Radio)

• 518 kHz NAVTEX

Note that: JRCC uses the NATO phonetic alphabet for communicating characters in English and the standard Greek phonetic alphabet (Ελληνικό φωνητικό αλφάβητο) for communicating characters in Greek.

References

References

1. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center – History".
2. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center – Organisation".
3. "Ποιος είναι ο Κώστας Φυτιρής".
4. "Kostas Fytiris, a retired Rear Admiral of the Cyprus Navy, takes over the Ministry of Justice".
5. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center – Mission".
6. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center – Participating services".
7. "ΥΠΑΜ: Νευραλγικός ο ρόλος του ΚΣΕΔ σε εθνικό επίπεδο (Φώτος)".
8. Μενελάου, Ραφαηλία. "Υπουργός Μεταφορών: Η Κυβέρνηση θα συνεχίσει να υποστηρίζει το έργο του ΚΣΕΔ".
9. (2023-03-08). "Ενημερωτική επίσκεψη στο ΚΣΕΔ Λάρνακας, από αντιπροσωπεία Λιβανέζων Αξιωματικών και Λειτουργών".
10. "Search and Rescue Contacts - JRCC Larnaca".
11. Solutions, BDigital Web. "Οι επιχειρήσεις διάσωσης του ΚΣΕΔ σε αριθμούς".
12. "Η υποχρέωση έρευνας-διάσωσης και η άμυνα της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας".
13. "Το άγνωστο σχέδιο Τεύκρος, οι τουρκικές προκλήσεις και οι μεγάλες μάχες του ΚΣΕΔ".
14. "Britons evacuated from Sudan arrive in Cyprus".
15. Corbishley, Sam. (2023-04-25). "First flight carrying Brits rescued from Sudan touches down in Cyprus".
16. "Ενεργοποιήθηκε το ειδικό εθνικό σχέδιο Εστία. Στην Κύπρο ξένοι πολίτες από το Σουδάν".
17. "@IrfanUKAmb".
18. "@BWallaceMP".
19. "We have a whole-team effort going on as our Mission's family members drop off donations of toys, books, bags, and blankets for U.S. Citizens fleeing Sudan and transiting Cyprus through @CyprusJRCC, where our many partners are doing us proud!".
20. "We are thankful to the Cypriot authorities @CyprusMFA @CyprusJRCC".
21. Gupta, Gaya. (2024-03-20). "Why Isn't More Aid Getting to Gazans?". The New York Times.
22. (2024-04-02). "Christodoulides presents Cyprus 'Amalthea' initiative for Gaza aid during Paris conference".
23. "Ο υποναύαρχος ε.α. Κώστας Φυτιρής στους «Έλληνες του Κόσμου»".
24. "Ποιος είναι ο Κώστας Φυτιρής".
25. (2024-03-17). "UAE announces the arrival of first aid ship to Gaza through maritime corridor from Cyprus - occupied Palestinian territory".
26. (2023-11-09). "EU throws weight behind Cypriot plan to ship aid to Gaza".
27. "Statements by the President of the Republic and the President of the European Commission".
28. (2024-04-02). "Πρόεδρος: Δεν πρόκειται να σταματήσει η «Αμάλθεια»".
29. "JRCC completes training for personnel from Balkan states".
30. (2024-08-03). "Cyprus trains Lebanon in search and rescue".
31. "Ποιος είναι ο Κώστας Φυτιρής".
32. "Ο υποναύαρχος ε.α. Κώστας Φυτιρής στους «Έλληνες του Κόσμου»".
33. (2025-12-05). "Η «ακτινογραφία» του ανασχηματισμού στην Κύπρο". Protothema.
34. "ΥΠΑΜ: Νευραλγικός ο ρόλος του ΚΣΕΔ σε εθνικό επίπεδο".
35. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center – Distress frequencies".
36. "ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΣΥΝΤΟΝΙΣΜΟΥ ΕΡΕΥΝΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΑΣΩΣΗΣ - JRCC LARNACA - Φρασεολογία Ε-Δ".