Members of the public and leaders of the island’s shipping industry got together for the first time in an open event to discuss the sector’s future and its impact on society and the economy, with speakers talking about their own experiences and how they see the future of the maritime world in Cyprus.
The panel discussion “Shipping: an industry of Passion, Knowledge and Experience – Part 3”, was held under the auspices of the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Marios Demetriades, who was also the keynote speaker.
The event, that attracted almost 400 attendees, took place at the new passenger terminal of DP World Limassol on Wednesday starting with the opening address delivered by Minister Demetriades, followed by a panel discussion with local and international high-profile shipping personalities and concluded with a cocktail reception.
The event was attended by government officials, the Transport Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, officials from the Department of Merchant Shipping, diplomats, representatives from the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, representatives of shipping organisations, shipping related associations and companies, as well as parents and students, with a full audience nearing 400 persons.
The theme of this year’s panel discussion was “Nurturing and Sustaining Cyprus Shipping”. Its purpose was to boost awareness of shipping among Cypriot citizens and foster discussion with the industry experts pursuant to nurturing and sustaining Cyprus shipping, to minimise risk exposure.
“Cyprus shipping is dealing with various high-risk vulnerabilities and its shipping base is currently under fierce competition that may jeopardise an expansion strategy,” said Muriel Mata, moderator and founder of the host organiser Maravilhosa.
“We want to increase knowledge about shipping, and at the same time, we want to be accountable towards our vital resources. Our aim is to share thoughts, experiences, initiatives and strategies related to Cyprus shipping, so we can bring to light new horizons and demonstrate an upcoming bright shipping future for the new generations,” Mata added.
In his speech, the Minister of Transport praised the growth of the panel “from a private community of 110 people in 2016 to a public audience of more than 300 people in 2018”.
He acknowledged the event’s theme that “shipping is an industry of passion, knowledge and experience” and that “these three words are the key to the success in the shipping industry, not only for the private sector but for the public sector as well.”
Demetriades added that “the government has placed and maintains shipping among its main concerns and priorities. A testimony of the government’s commitment and support to the shipping industry is the creation of a stand-alone Deputy Ministry of Shipping as from March 2018.”
“The sustainable growth of Cyprus shipping is one of the priorities of the government and consequently the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works will do its utmost to enhance the competitiveness of our flag and of our maritime cluster,” the minister added.
Charles Meaby, General Manager of DP World Limassol, welcomed the guests and elaborated on the topic of nurturing and sustaining shipping by looking at it from the Limassol port terminal operator’s perspective.
Mark O’Neil, CEO of Columbia Marlow Holding Group’s talk was ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ and highlighted the need to build on, not squander, the inheritance and legacy of the Cyprus shipping sector.
Andreas Chrysostomou, Acting Secretary General of CLIA-Europe posed the question, “Is Cyprus shipping in stagnation?” while, Apostolos Belokas, founder and Managing Editor of SAFETY4SEA talked about the “mega trends affecting sustainable shipping”.
Also among the panel was Katia Christoforou, Head of Commercial at Marin Shipmanagement and a board member of YoungShip Cyprus, who gave “a piece of advice” as a young professional working in a major shipping company, while concluding the list of speakers was the CEO of Tototheo Maritime Ltd, Socrates Theodossiou, who posed his question to the audience, “Digital Disruption and Transformation – are you ready?”
