Turkish embargo still a problem for Cyprus ships

President of the House of Representatives Demetris Christofias said that Turkey continues to impose restrictive measures on Cypriot ships which have negative implications on the Cyprus flag and the economy in general.

Addressing the 18th Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Council in Limassol, Christofias said that Cyprus has all the experience and potential, in terms of both material and human resources, not only to continue to offer high quality shipping services, but also to push its position even higher as a maritime centre of exceptional importance.

He underlined the close relationship that exists between parliament and the Shipping Council, adding that it was gratifying to see that Cyprus’ effort to improve the quality of its fleet has produced positive results.

Communications and Works Minister Harris Thrasou praised the Council’s contribution, support and co-operation in all shipping matters relating to technical and policy issues, as well as in modernizing the maritime legislation, promoting the Cyprus flag and organizing the biennial Maritime Cyprus Conference.

Thrasou made particular mention to the success of the Cyprus flag which was removed from the Paris and Tokyo MoUs “Black List”, a clear indication of the qualitative improvements of the Cyprus fleet.

He also said that due to the continuation of the main obstacle in the further development of Cyprus shipping, namely, the Turkish embargo against Cyprus ships, the Department of Merchant Shipping is exploring new incentives, which aim at improving the competitiveness of the Cyprus flag and the attractiveness of Cyprus as a maritime centre.

In addition, he specified a number of certain problems that the Cyprus shipping industry is facing which arise from European regulations and policies and said he was confident that with the excellent cooperation and working relationship between the Ministry, the Department of Merchant Shipping and the Cyprus Shipping Council which are already in progress will lead to a successful outcome.

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris also addressed the CSC meeting and focused on “Accession to the Eurozone: Benefits and Challenges”. Sarris’ speech included a presentation which provided a short description on the introduction of the Euro and the impact this will have on shipping companies as well as practical instructions, advice and suggestions on how companies can prepare themselves to meet any challenges.

Environmental concerns

In an address sent to the meeting by the President of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF), Spyros Polemis gave particular emphasis on the growing concerns about shipping’s environmental performance, and in this respect he said that the shipping industry, as a goal, stands for zero tolerance of pollution of the environment, and wishes to cooperate fully with the IMO and governments worldwide, in order to find the right practical solutions.

In his address, the President of the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA), Lennart Simonsson commended the authorities in Cyprus and its shipping industry on the active role they play in international organisations and the contribution of the Cyprus shipping industry in the broad area of issues dealt with by ECSA. The president of ECSA concentrated on the de facto global nature of shipping services and stated that global governance is a must.

In his closing speech the President of the Cyprus Shipping Council, Andreas Droussiotis referred to the Council’s continuous growth and its considerable contribution to the expansion of the infrastructure of the Cyprus shipping industry. He praised the close co-operation of the Department of Merchant Shipping with the Council for the improvement of the image of the Cyprus flag.

The Council’s AGM also elected Michael Ioannides, former Secretary General of the Cyprus Union of Shipowners to its board. Ioannides takes up the post of Vice President-elect and is replaced by Marios A. Pilavakis as the new Secretary General of the CUS.

Praise for Cyprus

The Cyprus maritime authorities received praise from the delegates of Norway, the U.K. and Ireland during the third annual meeting of the European Investigators of Marine Accidents held in Southampton last month.

The accolade was for the good cooperation with the Cyprus officials during investigations in the past year.