NICOSIA – The shipping industry has been one of Cyprus’ most successful export services, as the country enjoys the privilege of being one of the most influential global hubs for ship owning and ship management services, with the island’s maritime capital, Limassol, being home to some of the world’s most important names in shipping, President Nicos Anastasiades has said.

Addressing Monday the opening ceremony of the Maritime Cyprus 2013 conference which takes place in Limassol, on the south coast, the President also referred to the Cyprus issue as well as Turkey’s ban on Cypriot-flagged ships, calling on the international community and the EU to exert pressure on Ankara.

Lifting this embargo is part of a package-proposal, put forward by the Greek Cypriot side, on a set of Confidence Building Measures which also includes the return of the Turkish occupied town of Varosha, on the eastern coast, to its rightful and lawful owners and inhabitants.

He also said that as a consequence of the Eurogroup decision on Cyprus, a number of shipping companies on the island have been affected, however the resident shipping industry has remained in Cyprus, demonstrating its confidence in the shipping industry and economy.

The President said that Cyprus offers a number of fiscal and economic advantages in the shipping industry, which include competitive ship registration costs and annual tonnage taxes, favourable tax regime for ship management and other international business enterprises and generally low operational and construction costs.

Published by:  www.incyprus.philenews.com