An expert from Lebanon is expected to arrive in Cyprus, in order to inspect the cargo of a Bahamas-flagged ship, which authorities have confiscated last week, following suspicions that it contained antiquities.

According to Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, it is not clear whether the ship was located within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Cyprus or Lebanon when it was found extracting the artifacts from the depth of the sea.

“This is not clear, according to a piece of information [the ship] was located in the EEZ of Lebanon, therefore an expert from Lebanon has been invited and is expected to arrive” Kasoulides said on Monday, after attending a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential residence, in the Troodos mountains.

According to the Minister, Cyprus has still an obligation to investigate a ship with such a cargo, before granting it permission to depart.

The ship has docked at Limassol port on December 17, while Cypriot authorities continue to investigate the cargo. According to a preliminary estimate of archeologists, the antiquities are not in Cyprus style.

The procedure of temporary confiscation would have been the same, regardless of the EEZ the ship was located in, the Minister went on.

Asked whether Cyprus would hand over the ship and its cargo to Lebanon, Kasoulides said that a number of other actions had to take place before taking such a decision, including, among others, the Attorney General`s legal opinion