World shipping industry meets at Maritime Cyprus 2007

The new image of international shipping is the focal point of the Maritime Cyprus 2007 Conference, to be held in Limassol on September 23-26. This is the tenth conference since the meeting was established in 1989 and according to the organisers the international shipping community awaits it with great anxiety since it is considered one of the three most important maritime events worldwide.
Shipping contributes 4% of the GDP, while the cash inflow to the state coffers from the shipping industry in 2005 amounted to 500 million Cyprus pounds. Shipping authorities in Cyprus believe that there is a need for a Shipping General Directorate to facilitate the decision-making process on maritime matters.
Organisers of Maritime Cyprus 2007 predict a huge success of the conference, based on the number of participants that have already registered, the calibre of speakers and panelists and the interest international media specialising in shipping are showing.
Cyprus Shipping Council Secretary General and Chairman of the Organising Subcommittee “Maritime Cyprus 2007” Thomas Kazakos has said in an interview with CNA that the Conference is organised every two years by the Governmental Maritime Administration in cooperation with the Cyprus Shipping Council and the Cyprus Union of Shipowners.
The initiative to organise this conference was taken in 1989 by the maritime administration and the newly founded Cyprus Shipping Council in an effort to place Cyprus’ shipping on the world shipping map. The main theme of the first conference was “Cyprus, the best kept Secret.”
“As the years past, Maritime Cyprus has gained a prominent position in many shipping executives’ calendar and has become one of the three world shipping conferences along with the one organised in Norway and the one in Japan,” Kazakos stressed.
He added that there is no longer a need to organise a conference focused on Cyprus and its shipping industry, noting that the island is being indirectly promoted as a shipping centre through ”Maritime Cyprus”, which “attracts approximately 800 participants and has become ‘a must’ for the international shipping community.”
“The success of the conference is also evident in the increasing number of participants. The conference is considered a point of reference and a meeting place for the international shipping community and the distinguished speakers and panelists it attracts,” Kazakos pointed out.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Stay tuned…Shipping New Image”, suggesting that “the conference will focus on the new image of shipping in the sense that the industry’s importance in the world economy and society at large is not reflected in the image it projects”, Thomas Kazakos stressed.
As he told CNA, according to official data 90% of the world trade is being carried out by sea means, widely believed to be the safest means of transport of people and merchandise, environmentally friendly and the cheapest way of trafficking goods.
“If all the ships sailing around the globe were to drop the anchor for three days, the world economy would freeze,” Kazakos said in an effort to describe the importance of shipping, noting that society at large is ignorant of this reality.
“This is the reasoning behind our choice of this year’s theme”, Kazakos explained, adding that the new image of world shipping is an issue of the utmost importance for the International Chamber of Shipping.
The programme of Maritime Cyprus 2007 comprises three thematic unities, with the first having the same title and content as the Conference’s main theme, “Shipping New Image”. The second day of the Conference, which is planned for Tuesday, September 25 is devoted to the theme “Recruiting, training and retaining of seafarers”, while the last day’s theme is “Shipowners’ Mission and Vision”.
According to Thomas Kazakos “the new element introduced to this year’s event is the fact that the speeches and addresses by officials are limited and more time is devoted to panel discussions in line with the conference’s aim to operate as a forum where important and current issues relating to international shipping are presented by distinguished speakers and discussed by the executives and representatives of the international shipping community in the framework of the panel discussions”.
The conference will be officially opened by the Conference Chairman, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Works Michael Constantinides. Distinguished guests such as the International Maritime Organisation’s Secretary General Efthymios Mitropoulos, European Commission’s Vice-President and Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, and other personalities of international shipping will address the conference.
“The address of Maritime Cyprus 2007 by such distinguished guests as IMO’s Secretary General and Commissioner Barrot reflects the recognition at the highest level of the conference and Cyprus as a serious shipping force”, Kazakos told CNA.
The first day includes also the official opening of the Maritime Service Exhibition, while participants await with particular interest the forecast on the future of international shipping by the ‘guru’ Martin Stopford, Kazakos said.
Another innovation in this year’s conference is the thematic unity devoted to young executives which will take place during the second day of Maritime Cyprus. “The main aim of this thematic unity is to give young executives of the shipping industry aged under 40 years old the opportunity to express their views and opinions on current and crucial issues”.

International and Cyprus shipping
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Asked about the current conditions prevailing in the world’s shipping industry and its short term outlook, Kazakos told CNA that the industry is going through a good period in the past 3 to 4 years and there are no predictions for a negative turnaround.
“The freight market in all sectors is sustained for the past 3-4 years at such levels that have led to a significant increase in the number of orders placed for the building of new ships”, Kazakos said.
“International shipping follows the trend of the world economy and world economy is developing, new economic forces have emerged such as China and the need for transport of goods is increasing”.
Asked whether Cyprus’ shipping is following the global trends, Thomas Kazakos told CNA that that its turnover is in line with the increase recorded on international level. “The crucial question is whether this booming situation is reflected on the registry, whether Cyprus’ merchant fleet has gained a substantive share of the registration of newly built vessels.”
A number of positive developments were witnessed during the past few years. Cyprus’ accession to the EU in May 2004 marked the recognition of Cyprus’ shipping at the highest level and today Cypriot fleet is ranked in the third place in EU after Greece and Malta. “2006 marked another significant development, the removal of Cyprus’ flag from the Paris MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) grey list and its ranking in the middle of the white list”, Kazakos stressed.
Thomas Kazakos stressed also the fact that shipping is the only sector of the economy that has never demanded or needed or granted any kind of financial assistance by the government but on the contrary it contributes 4% of the GDP, while based on Central Bank data for 2005, the cash inflow to the state coffers amounted to 500 million Cyprus pounds.
“The only need of the industry is a legal, stable and attractive tax system” he said, adding that Cyprus shipping has great potential provided that the tonnage taxation is responding to the needs of the sector.
“The current year is crucial,” Kazakos said and pointed out that the tax system will be evaluated and its viability will be assessed.
“But what is more important is the guidance on political level which can be gained by the creation of a Shipping General Directorate under the Communication and Works Ministry”.
“We do not doubt nor do we question the political will or the competence of the shipping administration. But what we are saying is that the creation of a General Directorate will allow a more timely and speedy decision-making process, aiming at resolving problems and tackling new issues as they arise.”
Kazakos finally stressed once more the great potential and positive outlook of the Cyprus shipping industry, underlining however the importance of promoting the above mentioned issues as soon as possible.