Although globally shipping is considered to be the most important agent for the spread of marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), in the case of the Eastern Mediterranean, shipping and voluntary/involuntary transport through aquaculture are less important entry route of NIS compared to the Suez Canal in terms of the number of NIS introduced. Due to their geographical location, Eastern Mediterranean and the Levantine Sea in particular, are particularly vulnerable to a significant and continuous flow of NIS via the Suez Canal (an artificial man-made passage of inadvertent introduction). It is estimated that more than 80% of organisms introduced into the Eastern Mediterranean are of Indo-Pacific origin entering via the Suez Canal (EastMed, 2010), i.e. Lessepsian migrants. The rates of introduction of these Lessepsian migrants have increased in recent decades and some of them are causing serious ecological and socio-economic impacts. Some species have successfully spread westward as far as Malta and Sicily, while scientific debates are ongoing about the possibility of such phenomena being facilitated by rising sea temperatures due to climate change. According to the relevant literature, the major obstacle to Lessepsian migration was the """"salinity barriers"""" along the Suez Canal when it was newly constructed. The effect of these salinity barriers has long been nullified, and now the salinity of the channel is not much different from that of the neighboring sea. Another salinity barrier to species invasion has also been neutralized with the construction of the Aswan Dam, which reduced freshwater discharge from river Nile into the Eastern Mediterranean, increasing the salinity levels in the area and creating conditions more conducive to many Lessepsian migrants. Also, the depth of the Canal plays an important role in the invasion of species due to the deepening and widening it has undergone so far. The Canal is now deeper and wider than it originally was. Any increase in volume reduced the temperature variation within the channel, while the increase in depth has probably facilitated the passage of sublittoral species. In addition, Egypt is proceeding with the creation of a second lane in the Canal to increase the number of ships passing through daily. Similarly, and due to its proximity to the Suez Canal, Cyprus is particularly vulnerable to NIS and specifically to Lessepsian migrants. By July 2009, 126 NIS had been reported in Cyprus (Katsanevakis et al., 2009) while by December 2018, the number of NIS had reached 179 (DFMR, 2019), of which the vast majority were Lessepsian migrants. Moreover, recent NIS monitoring surveys in coastal MPAs of Cyprus revealed an increasing trend in NIS abundance and biomass. Based on the above, it is very important to acknowledge the Suez Canal as a priority passage in terms of its contribution to the increase of NIS species in the Eastern Mediterranean, recognizing at the same time the inherent difficulties in dealing with and preventing the introduction of NIS through it. Taking preventive measures is not possible, since the management of the Suez Canal is not under the control of the EU or any MS and therefore no measures can be taken/implemented at this level.