Concern for the future

The CSC survey also revealed that offshore shipping companies are very much concerned about the future of their presence in Cyprus. Although none had any, intention of leaving Cyprus, most of them stated that any change in their tax status as provided by the current legislation would induce them to review their commitment to Cyprus.

The prospective entry of Cyprus into the European Union is considered by most respondent companies to be a challenge as well as a major opportunity. Naturally shipping companies are anxious not to be put at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their competitors abroad. Because of the large number of ships on the Cypriot registry, Cyprus will be in a unique position to negotiate as equal to equal with the EU. The EU itself would probably not want any drastic changes to the Cypriot shipping policy, which would have as a result the defection of high-quality Cypriot ships to other registries. The EU should want to attract those ships which would increase its fleet by 20%.

Respondent companies also expressed criticism of the amount of bureaucracy and the slowness of the Government machinery. In this respect and despite its generally good intentions, the Government does not always succeed to live up to its promises. The Government regularly declares its eagerness to help the shipping industry. Yet, due to the many bureaucratic hurdles, new measures are implemented at such a slow pace that even high-ranking Government officials themselves often express their exasperation with the bureaucracy.

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