Natassa Pilides, Cyprus’ Deputy Minister for Shipping, has briefed the country’s parliamentary transport committee on new draft regulations already approved by the country’s cabinet, on a planned revision of its pricing policy.
Pilides has outlined the new pricing policy which provides for the rounding and grouping of fees, as well as the cancellation of the initial registration payment. “We believe abolishing initial termination fees will boost the shipping registry,” said Pilides.
The register ranks 11th in the world with 1,100 ships and 24.4m gt despite the challenges Cyprus faces due to the restrictions of movement imposed by Turkey on Cypriot shipping since 1987. “If we don’t reduce fees, perhaps instead of an increase in ship registrations we could see a reduction,” she said.
Pilides notes Denmark had the fastest growing registry in Europe after it scrapped registration fees and though the plan could cost the country between EUR600,000 ($665,000) and EUR700,000 in lost fees initially Pilides said: “If we manage to attract more ships surely we will have increased revenue from the tonnage tax and other fees.”
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