Shipping department seeks clean deck ahead of EU entry

By Jim Kapsis

THE DEPARTMENT of Merchant Shipping reported yesterday that nearly half the Cyprus-flagged ships it had inspected in the second quarter of this year fell below government standards.

According to the official announcement, a total of 55 out of 119 vessels were found to have deficiencies. The inspections were carried out by the Merchant Shipping Department and local inspectors stationed at ports around the world. The Department conducts both regular and random inspections of its fleet throughout the year.

The deficient vessels were not permitted to sail until either they had rectified their problems or switched registries to another flag. Three of the 55 vessels reportedly withdrew from the Cyprus Registry rather than comply with government standards.

The number of inspections between April and June of this year was up by 25, 3 per cent. The government is currently trying to upgrade the safety and pollution standards of its fleet, as well as to ensure the quality of the living and working conditions on board Cypriot-flagged ships. This new regulatory initiative reflects the government’s desire to clean the decks of the Cypriot shipping industry before Cyprus joins the European Union.

Asked whether tighter regulations might not lead to a fall in the size of the Cypriot fleet, Serghios Serghiou, a spokesman for the Department of Merchant Shipping, replied that “our aim is not to increase our size, but to improve our quality.”

Cyprus is one of a handful of countries with an open shipping registry which permits foreign vessels to sail under its national flag. Other countries with open registries include Panama, Liberia, Malta, and the Bahamas. Open registries are attractive to foreign merchants who wish to avoid the tighter regulations imposed by their home ports.

According to Sergiou, 80 per cent of the current Cypriot fleet is of Cypriot national origin. This number, however, is likely to increase as regulations tighten.

As of March 1999, the Cyprus merchant fleet ranked sixth in the world, with more than 2,600 ships and a gross tonnage exceeding 26 million. Shipping revenues account for approximately 2,5 per cent of Cyprus GDP.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.