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

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

In terms of country of origin, Germany remains Cyprus’ biggest market with a share of 45% of total revenue (compared with 42% in Q2 2020), followed by Greece, whose share rose to 13% from 12% in Q2 2020.

On the other hand, the share of Singapore, Malta and Marshal Islands’ marked a minor reduction to 7%, 3% and 3% compared with 9%, 7% and 4% in Q2 2020, respectively.

The Cyprus shipmanagement sector remains broadly international.

The CBC added that 59% of revenue came from ships under foreign registries, while 41% of the total revenue came from the management of Cypriot flag vessels.

Of the €447 million 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%.

These shares are close to the levels observed in Q2 2019.

Shipmanagement expenditure rose to €425 million in H1 2021 compared with €416 million in H2 2020, marking an increase of 2.2% compared with H2 2020 and broadly stable (0.5%) compared with H1 2020.

Some 60% of total spending went on crew payments, 44% to Non-EU seafarers and 16% to EU nationals.

Shipmanagement expenditure (spare parts, lubricants, and dry-docking) accounted for 27% of spending and 13% concerned administrative expenses.

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

Source: Financial Mirror