Cyprus Shipping Deputy Minister Natasa Pilides

On the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea near the significant delivery paths attaching Europe, Asia, and also Africa exists the island nation of Cyprus, a little yet essential island worldwide of maritime.

Cyprus’ marine market adds so considerably to the economic situation that, in March of 2018, the federal government developed the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry (SDM) to boost the performance, performance, and also versatility of the general public delivery management. Since its beginning, the Cyprus flag has actually expanded considerably, and also it currently rates amongst the leading global fleets with greater than 1,100 oceangoing vessels with complete gross tonnage going beyond 24.4 million.

The variety of delivery firms based in Cyprus and also signed up under the Cyprus tonnage tax obligation system has actually additionally expanded over the last years to greater than 220, with greater than 30% development in both years considering that the facility of the Cyprus SDM. These firms are sustained by a variety of various other services offering secondary tasks, such as maritime modern technology firms, P&I Clubs, delivery brokers, specialized delivery attorneys and also accounting professionals, ship repair service and also upkeep solutions, in addition to an expanding oil and also gas market offering sustaining solutions to procedures in the East Med area.

“Maritime represents 7% of Cyprus’ GDP and employs approximately 3% of the country’s population,” claims Natasa Pilides, theShipping Deputy Minister “Our goal as a Shipping Deputy Ministry is to strengthen Cyprus shipping and its consolidation as a modern, global shipping service center. We are achieving this through flexibility and speed of decision-making, the improvement and upgrading of state services provided, the promotion of the Cyprus flag, and the strengthening of the cooperation with the private stakeholders involved.”

One of the crucial functions of the Cyprus SDM has actually been to sustain “blue growth” efforts– that is, lasting methods that sustain lasting development in the aquatic and also marine industries all at once. An component of this is the SDM’s deal with the Cyprus Marine and also Maritime Institute (CMMI), an independent, global, clinical and also company centre of quality which will certainly support closer participation and also harmonies in between the maritime market and also the academia. Forging connections such as this adds to the transfer of understanding, the advancement, application and also circulation of sophisticated modern technologies, and also the exchange of ideal methods.

CMMI is headed by Zacharias Siokouros, a marine designer and also previous aquatic and also overseas manager with Lloyd’s Register.

“The aim from the start was to fill a gap in relation to research and innovation in the marine and maritime sector and beyond. We’re looking at the whole blue economy,” claims Siokouros.

Working with Cyprus SDM and also neighborhood economic sector, CMMI is presently in the procedure of hiring a group and also determining tasks to assist them attain their vision.

“We formulate the priorities based on what we think the technology needs are for the industry, and then that feeds into CMMI in terms of what projects become more relevant to what the industry is looking for,” claimsDeputy Minister Pilides “But the market also regulates this is some way because different companies in Cyprus have different ideas of what they want to financially commit to, and so do the various organizations who are taking part. Definitely, the focus is on projects that have a practical application and can help us meet our goals,” Pilides includes.

Digitalization is an additional core location of emphasis. Some of the solutions that the SDM supplies consist of sustaining brand-new modern technologies and also incorporating them right into present procedures, in addition to offering quick and also effective ship enrollment and also a collection of on the internet solutions consisting of e-verification of certifications, an automatic seafarers’ administration system, and also a profession system for seafarers.

“We are passionate about providing top quality services to support our clients and part of this has involved the restructuring of the Shipping Deputy Ministry, in line with international best practices,” claimedPilides “As well as securing EU approval for our tonnage tax system for a second 10-year period, we are developing a discount scheme that will reward environmentally-friendly vessels.”

One such campaign, backed by the Cyprus SDM, is the Fleet Information Sharing system given by Prevention at Sea, a Cyprus- based ISO 9001 maritime modern technology and also aquatic threat company. The F.I.SH. system is an on-line ship information repository created to systematize, maximize, and also lower time invested in the ship examination procedure in addition to ship information collection for evaluation by 3rd parties.

“Once an inspector or auditor is on board, whether they’re from a Flag State, Port State Control, P&I, or class, they spend a considerable amount of time reviewing data and records before they move forward to the physical inspection. I realised a lot of time and effort on behalf of the inspectors and crew is spent on this part of the process, so why not put this information in the cloud for review beforehand,” claims Petros Achtypis, owner of Prevention at Sea.

“Education and innovation are critical to sustainable blue growth,” endsPilides “This relies upon nurturing closer cooperation and synergies between the maritime industry, the academic community, and innovators from other sectors. The objective of Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry is to grow the sector in a way where all services are available within our own cluster and where we have all the collaborations with institutions, companies, and governments abroad, as well as the EU and IMO. This will ensure that the maritime industry prospers on both a national and international scale.”