This is what President Nicos Anastasiades told the Cyprus Union of Ship Owners recently at a working lunch held in his honour in Athens.

“Cyprus’ shipping sector continues to grow and the island has the potential to develop into an important energy hub in the Mediterranean with shipping becoming one of the most significant pillars that will contribute to the eastern Mediterranean’s stability,” he said.

“It is within this framework that Shipping is part of trilateral agreements with neighbouring countries, such as Israel, Egypt and not only,” he added.

The President also said that Cyprus is considered one of the most influential global hubs for ship owning and ship management services – boasting some of the world’s most influential names in shipping.

And that Cyprus is the largest third party ship management centre in Europe and the largest crew management centre in the world.

At the same time, the island’s international ship register is the third largest in Europe and the tenth largest in the world.

Nonetheless, the government’s new plan to boost further the sector focuses on five core areas, the first one being the development and implementation of a national shipping promotion strategy.

Secondly, greater co-operation within the Cyprus maritime cluster.

Thirdly, the establishment of shipping incentive schemes, fourth is the fine-tuning of the ship registry pricing policy and fifth the development of the one-stop-shipping shop.

“Our recently completed study proposes a number of measures that ensure more flexibility, fast and efficient service, upgrading of the online services provided, reliability, and high quality services,” Anastasiades also said.

Source: InCyprus