and the industrial port of Vassiliko. Approximately 4,500
ships call at Cypriot ports and terminals annually. In addi-
tion, Cyprus has established itself as one of the most im-
portant cruise centres in the Eastern Mediterranean and it
is included in the itineraries of most of the Mediterranean
as well as the international cruise ships which sail in the
region. Moreover, Cyprus is a permanent base for cruise
ships which carry out excursions in the region on a regular
basis. Maritime transport is served by a modern and inte-
grated international port system, consisting the multi-pur-
pose ports of Lemesos and Larnaka, the industrial port of
Vassiliko and the four oil terminals which are located at
Larnaca, Dhekelia and Moni.
Cyprus is considered as one of the leading third-party ship
management centres in the world. More than sixty ship
management companies are established and operate in
Cyprus, many of which are considered among the largest
ship management companies in the world. In conjunction
with these more than one hundred companies have been
established with shipping related activities, ranging from
marine insurance, ship chartering, ship-broking, financial
services, equipment suppliers and telecommunications, to
port services, transhipment operations, shipping agents,
ship chandlers and ship bunkering.
The Cyprus government has been taking a series of meas-
ures in order to improve the safety standards of the Cyprus
merchant fleet and to minimise the number of marine ac-
cidents; thus eliminating sub-standard shipping and min-
imising the environmental impact of maritime transport,
which are deemed necessary for the achievement of the
safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean seas. To this
end, age limits have been imposed for the registration of
certain categories of ships and strict requirements have to
be fulfilled at the time of registration.
Furthermore, a network of independent inspectors pro-
vides adequate coverage of inspections globally. The ef-
fective implementation of these measures enabled Cyprus
to achieve a ‘White List’ status in the flag assessment sys-
tem maintained by the Paris and the Tokyo MoUs on port
state control, thus resulting in fewer inspections of the
ships and less delays at the ports of both MoUs.
The Cyprus government attaches considerable importance
to the improvement of living and working conditions of
seafarers on board Cyprus ships in accordance with safety
practices and international conventions, currently in force,
for decent employment. These become increasingly more
important since Cyprus ratified the Maritime Labour Con-
vention of 2006 (MLC 2006); and Cyprus as a port state en-
sures, as from 20 August 2013, that foreign flag ships
which call Cyprus ports comply with the provisions and re-
quirements of the MLC 2006.
At the same time, action is taken for the continuous im-
provement of the existing maritime infrastructure, the im-
provement of the quality of the merchant fleet, the
incentives available to both residents and non-residents,
the enhancement of the international reputation of the
Cyprus flag as a flag of progress.
Cyprus also introduced in 2012 a comprehensive legisla-
tion to help counteract piracy-unlawful acts against
Cyprus Flag ships. The Law is a pioneering legislation es-
tablishing the required legislative framework allowing the
use of armed personnel on board Cyprus flagged vessels,
in a regulated manner, when these vessels are sailing
through high risk areas. The Law incorporates the recom-
mendations and guidance developed by the International
Maritime Organization in relation to privately contracted
armed security personnel.
Furthermore, the Law takes into account the provisions of
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The
very high percentage of utilisation of the provisions of the
Law by our ship owners proves that the Law satisfies the
requirements and needs of the shipping industry in a
comprehensive way.
The efforts to improve the image of shipping are not lim-
ited to Cyprus shipping. As a member of the IMO Council,
Cyprus plays a significant role in the formulation of the fu-
ture strategy and the regulatory work of the Organisation
and is influential in the decision making process. Cyprus
also contributes significantly to the achievement of the
objective of the IMO, namely safer seas and cleaner
oceans.
48
THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS
