Addressing a ceremony for the 25th anniversary of Fleet Management Ltd, Anastasiades said enhancing the strategic advantages of the Cyprus maritime cluster remained a high priority for the government. “We are all aware that our shipping industry operates in a highly competitive global environment, thus requiring stability and long-term innovative planning in order to further evolve,” he said.

“Our efforts are primarily focusing on further strengthening our role in the international shipping arena, consolidating the competitiveness of the Cyprus Flag and providing fruitful conditions for the sustainable growth of our shipping industry.”

He added that a number of other measures and incentives were also under examination with further targeted actions to improve services and standards updating the already-competitive shipping taxation framework and the pricing policy for the Cyprus registry.

The creation of a deputy ministry for shipping, Anastasiades said it has yielded positive results.

He said revenue from ship management companies in 2018 reached €1.03bn, an increase of 9 per cent over 2017, while the gross tonnage on the Cyprus registry increased to 24.5 million, the highest figure recorded since 2010.

Anastasiades said since the establishment of the deputy ministry, the number of shipping firms coming under the tonnage tax system had increased from 168 to 215.

“We will continue examining ways of introducing more incentives, also in consultation and collaboration with the private sector, in order to ensure that Cyprus remains at the edge of the competition as a shipping centre,” Anastasiades said.

Source: Cyprus Mail