Maritime Cyprus turns to young execs

— Pressure still on Turkey to remove embargo

The tenth Maritime Cyprus Conference will be held in Limassol on September 23-26, with the focus this year on the changing image of the shipping industry and the need to cultivate a new generation of young executives.

Shipping contributes 4% of GDP and the cash inflow to the state coffers from the sector amounts to CYP 500 mln (EUR 850 mln), making the Cyprus merchant fleet the third biggest in the European union after Greece and Malta, and the tenth in the world.

So, should Cyprus be concerned that it has gradually slipped in the world rankings of shipping communities?

Government officials and shipping company executives believe that the Department of Merchant Shipping must have greater autonomy in order to continue with upgrades and maintaining inspectors in ports around the world to ensure a high standard of safety is maintained on board Cyprus-flag vessels.

They also say that other higher ranked registers are commercial ventures that do not have the infrastructure attached to the Cyprus flag, that includes ship-management companies and services providers, many of whom have real operations in Cyprus.
Organisers of Maritime Cyprus 2007 predict the conference will be a great success with 800 participants, a high calibre of speakers and panelists including the European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
Cyprus Shipping Council Secretary General and chairman of the conference organising subcommittee Thomas Kazakos said that Maritime Cyprus has become one of the three world shipping conferences along with Norway and Japan.

This year’s conference will also have a novelty in that a special session has been dedicated to young executives under 40 in the maritime industry and will debate future career opportunities.

Kazakos said that 90% of world trade is transported by sea, 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 told the Cyprus News Agency in an effort to describe the importance of shipping.
The Maritime Cyprus will also deal with “Recruiting, training and retaining of seafarers”, as well as “Shipowners’ Mission and Vision”.
Conference Chairman, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Works Makis Constantinides told a press briefing that despite the need, there is no immediate plan to grant the Department of Merchant Shipping autonomy, the same way that the Civil Aviation Department has had to become an independent service by the end of the tear, while government officials are still pondering over the future of the Postal Services.

— International shipping

 

Asked about the current conditions prevailing in the world’s shipping industry and its short term outlook, Kazakos told CNA that the industry has been 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”, he 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.”

“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.”
Cyprus’ accession to the EU in May 2004 was a milestone for the shipping industry, while 2006 marked another significant development, the removal of the Cyprus flag from the Paris MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) grey list and its ranking in the middle of the white list, Kazakos said.

— Turkey‘s embargo

 

Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to ships flying the Cypriot flag will be discussed during the conference in the presence of Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport Jacques Barrot.
Conference Chairman Makis Constantinides said that unless Turkey lifts the embargo it has imposed on ships flying the Cypriot flag, the EU – Turkey negotiating chapter on transport will not open.
He said that the government is considering various countermeasures to be granted to ship owners to offset the losses resulting from Turkey’s embargo, imposed since 1987.
“This issue will be raised at the conference … The Turkish embargo is the only negative aspect in the field of Cypriot shipping”, he said.
Thomas Kazakos added that efforts are underway to offer Cyprus flag shipowners tax incentives to counterbalance the Turkish embargo.
Asked whether the European Commission gave its green light to grant such incentives, Constantinides said that Cyprus is in consultations with the Commission, adding that the issue will be discussed with Commissioner Barrot.
“Let me remind you of the European Commission’s decision not to open the EU – Turkey negotiating chapter on transport unless Turkey shows in actions that it behaves in a European manner, respecting all EU member states, including the Republic of Cyprus”, he said.