The Cyprus flag has continued to demonstrate resilience and steady growth over the last two years. Cyprus recorded a 20% rise in terms of gross tonnage in ship registrations, reaching the highest point of the last 20 years, driven by expanded global services and efforts to build closer ties with shipowners.
The number of companies registered in the Cyprus tonnage tax system has increased by 15% whilst the ship management sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Cyprus increased by 27% from 2023 to 2024.
Maintaining the competitiveness of the Cyprus maritime cluster has been a continuous concern for policy makers in 2025.
“It is a priority for the Government to further enhance the competitiveness of Cyprus shipping. We are fully committed to continue upgrading and strengthening the framework that governs the services provided by the Shipping Deputy Ministry,” President of the Republic of Cyprus, Niκos Christodoulides said Monday, in his opening address at the Maritime Cyprus 2025 Conference (6-8 October) in Limassol.
The president emphasised that the digitalisation of the services of the Shipping Deputy Ministry is constantly progressing: “In fact, I am very pleased to announce today that we are ready to launch the first services next week.”
One of the government’s main goals, the qualitative and further strengthening of the Cyprus ship registry, has been achieved, president Niκos Christodoulides said.
Christodoulides mentioned that this “achievement is largely due to the strengthening of the cooperation we have achieved with the ship-owning community of Greece and the shipping companies based in Cyprus, as well as the firm support of Cypriot shipowners.”
Speaking at a dinner marking the start of the Maritime Cyprus 2025 conference, he stated that the registry recorded an increase approaching twenty per cent over the past two years.
In his address during the dinner, he noted that revenues from ship management during the second half of 2024 reached 918 million, representing 5.28 per cent of Cyprus’ gross domestic product, marking a 27 per cent increase compared with the second half of 2023.
“This,” he said, “makes the ship management sector a powerful growth driver for the Cypriot economy.”
He also highlighted that the number of companies registered under Cyprus’ tonnage tax system increased by 15 per cent over the past two years.
The President explained that a shipping cluster is not only ship ownership and ship management companies, but also all companies that offer similar services in the sector, noting that those companies are consistently choosing Cyprus as the country to establish their activities.
“The strengthening, therefore, of the shipping cluster in Cyprus is our priority and with policies, such as the digitalization of the services provided but also the strengthening of others, such as for example the one-stop shipping centre, we are convinced that we will succeed in making Cyprus one of the most attractive destinations for these companies.”
He also welcomed IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, noting that he has known him personally since 2002 when serving as a diplomat in London, and thanked him for his presence and contribution to the conference and for IMO’s long-standing support to the Maritime Cyprus conference.
“It is our strong political commitment to actively and effectively participate in the work of the International Maritime Organization and in the vision of the Secretary-General, as a member of the Council, to which Cyprus has been elected continuously since 1987,” the president noted.
Referring to the upcoming Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) from January 1, 2026, he said that “this is, without a doubt, a national mission, which I am absolutely convinced that we will carry out successfully.”
He stressed that shipping will be among the top priorities of the Cypriot Presidency, especially as the European Commission is expected to submit its proposal for the new EU maritime industrial strategy, which will be discussed in the framework of the Cyprus Presidency.
Concluding, Christodoulides said that during its EU Presidency, Cyprus will also seek to highlight other major challenges facing the shipping industry.
These include the shortage of merchant navy officers, the need for reskilling and upskilling seafarers, and the promotion of gender equality in maritime professions.
He announced that a related declaration is expected to be adopted during the informal Council of Ministers responsible for maritime transport, to be held in Cyprus in April 2026.
