Maritime Cyprus: Blue Growth Strategy Underway in Cyprus, as 4.5% of the World’s Fleet is Managed By the Country

Maritime Cyprus: Blue Growth Strategy Underway in Cyprus, as 4.5% of the World’s Fleet is Managed By the Country

20/09/2019

Decarbonisation, technological transformation, increasing regulation and the tough markets of recent years are all increasing the complexity of the current business environment and challenging the effectiveness of traditional business models. With all this change affecting every aspect of our work from the strategic to the day-to-day, it is often difficult to gauge the extent and nature of change needed on the inside, in order to effectively deal with change coming in from the outside.

Yet with change comes opportunity. The potential of blue growth is immense, and the opportunities for companies that effectively use technological advancement are many.

Here at the Cyprus’ Shipping Deputy Ministry, we are committed to a blue growth strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole. To achieve this, we are developing the Cyprus Integrated Maritime Policy and supporting multiple research and innovation programmes, especially those with a focus on technology. Something we are particularly excited about is the creation of a new Centre of Excellence for marine and maritime innovation here in Cyprus, which has secured €40m of funding from the Cyprus Government, the EU and the private sector. An increasing number of marine technology and innovation companies in Cyprus have already expressed an interest in participating in the programme in collaboration with shipping companies within our cluster.

We are passionate about providing top quality services to support our clients, and part of this involves embracing new technologies and integrating them into our current operations. We not only offer a digital service offering, enabling a more user-friendly, client-orientated approach, and 24/7 support but also offer a fast, efficient and cost-effective ship registration process, which has recently been updated and is in the process of being automated. We are digitising our records, and our new website includes additional e-services such as verification of CLC, Bunkers, Wreck, Athens Convention certificates and registration certificates.

Through the implementation of our newly developed strategy, we continue to encourage further growth of our fleet, which now encompasses over 1,100 oceangoing vessels with a total gross tonnage exceeding 24.4 million. We have the third largest fleet within the European Union, with 12% of the total fleet of the 28 EU member states.

At the same time, we continue to cement our position a leading maritime centre, with over 3,500 vessels and a total net tonnage of around 80 million managed from Cyprus. This represents about 20% of the world’s third-party managed fleet and 4.5% of the world fleet.

We have a strong maritime services infrastructure spanning the breadth of insurance, legal, accounting and ship management to bunkering and technical services, all offering a professional and reliable 24/7 service. In tandem with the growing number of ships under the Cyprus flag, more and more companies are choosing to expand their presence in Cyprus as we offer a unique combination of highly qualified professionals, unrivalled quality of life, and an ideal location in terms of time zone and access to emerging markets.

We’ve worked hard to cement our reputation as a well-established and quality registry, committed to safety, security and excellence. Testament to this is the flag’s consistent inclusion in the “White List” of the Paris, Tokyo and other MoUs for Port State Control, as well as the top quality 24/7 service provided by our technical experts.

Maritime Cyprus 2019 – join the debate
At this year’s prestigious Maritime Cyprus Conference, hosted in the historic port town of Limassol, we will be discussing our new developed strategy in greater detail, and debating some of the key issues facing maritime today with some of the leading and most influential names in shipping. Our packed programme features panel discussions that tackle important topics like international regulation, change management, and the sustainable use of marine resources.

All of our speakers have been invited solely on merit, and the moderated panel sessions will only take place during the mornings of the conference, with the afternoons free for meetings and networking. We will also be running our hugely popular Young Executives session – an interactive workshop which aims to connect young shipping professionals and provide them with a platform to discuss their vision for the sector.

Our guests will have the opportunity to network with shipping executives from across the world, as well as meet senior representatives from the Shipping Deputy Ministry, the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, and the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, and familiarise themselves with the strong maritime tradition of Cyprus and its bustling maritime cluster.

Conference details:
The Conference will be held in Limassol, at the “Carob Mill Conference Centre”, between 7th and 9th October 2019.
The official opening of the conference will take place on Sunday, 6th October 2019, at the Parklane Resort and Spa, in Limassol. During the opening reception, the winner of the Cyprus Maritime Award 2019 will be announced and presented with an award by H.E. the President of the Republic of Cyprus.

Source: Natasa Pilides, Shipping Deputy Minister to the President, Republic of Cyprus