Cyprus is considered the largest ship management center in Europe and one of the biggest in the world, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, addressing the Maritime Cyprus 2023 Conference, that takes place in Limassol.

In his address, the President said that his presence there underlines the importance that the Government of Cyprus attaches on shipping and the blue economy, as one of the main drivers of economic growth in Cyprus.

"Shipping is one of the most important pillars of the Cyprus economy and has contributed significantly to the GDP of the country throughout the years", he said, adding that the Cyprus Ship Registry has developed over the last 60 years into a sizeable and important Registry ranking 11th worldwide and 3rd in the EU, with a strong presence at European and international level.

Cyprus, he said, is not just a leading Ship Registry but also a major maritime cluster with more than 250 shipping companies based or having offices in Cyprus, offering a wide spectrum of shipping related activities such as ship management, chartering, marine insurance etc.  

Referring to the economy, he said that the recent double upgrade of the Cypriot economy and the return of our country’s credit rating to investment grade by Moody’s rating house, after 12 years is heralding growth also for the shipping sector.  

He recalled that since 1987 Cyprus has been elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization with a strong voice and significant involvement in the decision-making process. 

"I am pleased that the Secretary General of the IMO has once again honoured us with his presence continuing the tradition since the first Maritime Conference held in 1989. I also welcome the newly elected Secretary General, and as we have done in the past, I look forward to continuing the excellent cooperation and exploring new areas of collaboration" he pointed out. 

The President recalled that in August he wrote to the UN Secretary General to underline the importance of Cyprus, as one of the biggest flag States, to contribute to the provision of services for the transportation of foodstuffs and fertilisers in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, in the case that the Initiative resumes.

"It is not acceptable that Cyprus flagged or Cyprus connected ships have effectively been prohibited by Turkey from participating in the Initiative" he stressed.

He also said that he recently sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, underlining the importance of enhancing European shipping and the need to address the fragmentation of competencies between the various Commission services dealing with shipping.

Furthermore, he noted that Cyprus introduced measures to support the shipping industry to achieve its decarbonization goals, by providing tonnage tax reductions up to 30% to owners of Cyprus and Community ships that use mechanisms-equipment for the environmental preservation of the marine environment and the reduction of the effects of climate change.

Moreover, he said that Cyprus has made significant progress in simplifying its procedures and is working towards reducing bureaucracy and becoming a paperless Maritime Administration, adding that the Shipping Deputy Ministry is also establishing a one-stop-shipping centre, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, offering services traditionally provided by the Civil Registry and Migration Department, so that the shipping industry can be served from a single point.  The one-stop-shipping centre will commence its operations on the premises of the Shipping Deputy Ministry, in Limassol, at the beginning of November, he said.

Noting that Cyprus supports and promotes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal in respect of the gender equality and diversity through the celebration of the “IMO International Day for Women in Maritime”, he said that  to underline the significance Cyprus attaches to this issue, the country has nominated a Cypriot, Despina Theodosiou, for the IMO Gender Equality Award.