| Summary: | Choosing the correct flag is a matter of crucial importance to a shipowner, never more so than today. In the last years, there has been an increase of available options: a traditional national register in the shipowner's country of origin, an open register provided by one of the increasing number of countries which allow their national flag to be used by shipowners which little or no connection with the country concerned, or a national offshore register such as those offered by a number of United Overseas Territories or, in the case of France, by the Kerguelen Islands. Finally, there are the growing number of international, or secondary, registers operated by traditional maritime nations such as Norway, Denmark and Germany. These afford the prestige of a national register with some of the advantages of an open registry, very often including a relaxation of tax and social security liabilities for seafarers and their employers. The Cyprus Registry today occupies the sixth place worldwide in terms of registered tonnage. Moreover, Cyprus is the third larger management centre in the whole maritime world; a fact supported by the increasing number of offshore Shipmanagement Companies that choose Cyprus as the base of their operations. These achievements were the consequence of the co-ordinated efforts of both the government and the private sector. In the last couple of years measures are taken by the Cyprus government in order the island's registry to be in full harmonisation with the Aquis Communautaire. These measures are presented here seven months before the Island joins officially as a full member the EU. Additionally as part of the study the author conducts a survey amongst those shipping companies chosen Cyprus as their base for conducting their business. They are asked to indicate their intentions after May 1st , 2004 which is the official day Cyprus is joining the European Union.
|
|---|