Focus on Turkish shipping ban

THE TURKISH ban on Cypriot ships was one of the issues discussed yesterday between President Demetris Christofias and shipping bosses on the island.

Yesterday’s meeting was held ahead of today’s annual general meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Council (CSC) in Limassol, which will focus on the necessity of a Cyprus Shipping Chamber.

Speaking after the meeting with Christofias, CSC general secretary Thomas Kazakos said the President had reiterated his election pledge to try and resolve the Turkish shipping ban, which has been in place since 1987.

Over the years, the ban has dissuaded numerous international shipping companies from registering under the Cyprus flag.
Kazakos said that Cyprus now had the world’s tenth biggest fleet and was 3rd in the EU.

“We informed the President on current issues affecting Cypriot shipping, which will be discussed in our annual general meeting,” Kazakos said.

He said he could not state categorically that there was a lack of interest in registering under the Cyprus flag, but did talk of a slowdown in recent years. One of the objectives of the meeting with Christofias was to hand over certain proposals that could alter this course, Kazakos said.

He said Christofias had been very positive.

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.