Decision no. 65.487 of the Council of Ministers, by whichthe National Hydrographic Committeewas established in 2007, states that: “the National Hydrographic Committeeshallgradually be transformed into an autonomous Hydrographic Service”. The Ministries and Departments, which participated in the National Hydrographic Committee, recognising the necessity of creating a Hydrographic Service to meet the huge hydrographic needs, decided to promote such legislationin order to organisethe hydrographic activities.

In July 2014, the House of Representatives passed "The Management and Conduct of Hydrographic Activities and Productionof Nautical Charts Law" (Law No.96(I)/2014).According to this law, the Department of Lands and Surveys is designated as the competent Department for the managementand conductof hydrographic activities. The Director of the Department is designated as the "Hydrographer of Cyprus". The Department of Lands and Surveysshall have the duty to contribute to the safety of mariners. Inter alia, it shall be responsible for:

• The conductof hydrographic surveys (dredging, collection of oceanographic data, etc.), in accordance with the technical standards set by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) for ports, their points of entry, coastal zones, territorial waters, EEZ, and the continental shelf.
• The creation and maintenance of a Database that shall support the draft and maintenance of all nautical publications.
• The preparation and publication of various nautical publications.
• The preparation and publication of hydrographic charts at large and small scales, in analogue or electronic format, for all maritime areas under the jurisdiction of Cyprus.
• The update of nautical publications.
• The representation of Cyprus in the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) and to take all necessary actions arising from Cyprus' participation in the activities of the organisation.
• The development of bilateral cooperation in the fields of hydrography and nautical cartography with neighbouring or other countries; and
• The provision of expertise to the competent bodies fordesignationof zones and for preparation of proposals for the conclusion of agreements with other States purposes.

Development programme

• Implementation of the scope of the contract for the purchase of a portable multi-beam sonar system, through the project THAL-HOR 2 and its installation on the vessel of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research.
• Implementation of the targets of the THAL-HOR 2 project
• Utilisation of hydrographic equipment
• Utilisation of hydrographic survey data and updating of nautical publications.