Anastasiades was speaking at a dinner organised by the Cyprus Ship-Owners Association at the Presidential Palace to coincide with the Maritime Cyprus 2015 conference in Limassol.

The president spoke of the on going negotiations under UN auspices between him and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci to reunify the island.

Anastasiades said, “It is well known that Turkey, which does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, has imposed an embargo with regard to the acceptance/reception of vessels under the flag of Cyprus in Turkish ports.”

A solution to the Cyprus problem will consequently open new prospects for the ships flying the Cypriot flag.

According to industry estimates the embargo on Cyprus flagged vessels costs the shipping sector some €100 million per year.

Anastasiades said that significant progress had been made in the talks so far, but noting that there are also hurdles “which we try, nevertheless, to address having as a basis the European acquis and the fact that Cyprus is an EU member state.”

The transport sector, which is dominated by shipping and warehousing accounted for 6.5% of gross value-added and 6% of GDP in 2014 according to data from the Statistical Service, Cystat.

Source: InCyprus