Revenue from the shipmanagement sector in Cyprus showed a small increase in the first half of 2021 reflecting the recovery in global shipping due to the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic.

According to the Ship Management Survey for the period of January – June 2021, composed by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), revenue from ship management amounted to €447 million of 4.1% of Cyprus GDP (in turnover terms) compared with €430 million in July – December 2020.

The increase, marked “a gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated decline in economic activity observed during 2020,” the CBC said.

In terms of country or origin, Germany remains Cyprus’ biggest market with a share of 45% of total revenue, (compared with 42% in the second half of 2020), followed by Greece whose share rose to 13% from 12% in the second half of 2020. On the other hand, the share of Singapore, Malta and Marshal Islands’ share marked minor reduction to 7%, 3% and 3% compared with 9%, 7% and 4% in the second half of 2020 respectively.

According to the data, the Cyprus shipmanagement sector remains broadly international, as 59% of revenue came from ships under foreign registries, while 41% of the total revenue came from the management of ships under the Cypriot flag, the CBC added.

Of the €447 million of revenue, full ship management services declined slightly to 47%, crew ship management rose to 49% of total revenue while technical management remained steady at 3%. According to the CBC, these shares are close to the levels observed in the second half of 2019.

Shipmanagement expenditure rose to €425 million in the fist half of 2021 compared with €416 million in the second half of 2020, marking an increase of 2.2% compared with the second half of 2020 and broadly stable (0.5%) compared with the first half of 2020.

According to the CBC, 60% of total spending concerned crew payments, of which 44% to Non-EU seafarers and 16% in EU nationals. Shipmanagement expenditure (such as spare parts, lubricants and dry-docking) accounted for 27% of spending, while 13% of spending concerned administrative expenses.

Cyprus is considered as the EU’s largest ship management centre and among the top 3 globally.