NICOSIA: The government is taking steps to improve and expand the shipping sector, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Marios Demetriades told the Cyprus Maritime conference in Limassol.
The three-day conference has drawn around 800 participants from 35 countries and is giving Demetriades the opportunity to push Cyprus a global hub for shipping, which accounts for as much as 7% of the island’s GDP.
“I would like to assure you that the Cyprus government is fully committed to safeguarding the shipping and maritime sector by doing the utmost to guarantee continuous sustainable growth,” Demetriades said.
President Nicos Anastasiades said at the conference’s opening reception on Sunday evening that shipping-related companies trust Cyprus as a base for their operations despite the economic crisis, and that the sector has played an important role in helping the island’s economy return to growth since the start of the year.
“Our shipping industry has been one of Cyprus’s most successful export services and constitutes a valuable asset,” he said
Demetriades said a study completed with the cooperation of the public and private sectors in July has highlighted several points where more attention is required, adding that a number of decisions have been made in relation to the recommendations.
These include restructuring the maritime administration, new promotional campaigns and tax incentives, and developing a new corporate identity for the Department of Merchant Shipping.
Demetriades said the government is examining various scenarios for the restructuring of the maritime administration, which despite its size and importance is currently a department of the Ministry of Transport Communications and Works.
“The most important thing is to strengthen the sector and make sure that the maritime administration focuses as much as possible,” he said.
Secretary General of the International Maritime Association Koji Sekimuzu said Maritime Cyprus is an important forum for the industry to discuss the future of international shipping.
The industry has been suffering since the economic crisis of 2008, and more recently because of falling oil prices, sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea and financial uncertainty in China.
Sekimuzu said the industry will prosper because it supports the world’s economy.
“Without shipping we cannot even think about sustainable growth,” he said.
Demetriades said he expects the development of hydrocarbons in Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone to prompt foreign shipping companies to relocate their offices to Cyprus to take advantage of growing Eastern Mediterranean offshore markets.
He also said the privatisation of Limassol port is well underway and on target for completion by March 2016.
Shipping activity at Port Qasim on February 11
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