Leading the way … towards a new era
CYPRUS - Candidate for re-election to the IMO Council for 2024 – 2025, Category C
Cyprus, a Maritime Nation
As the Island's history reveals, the shipping and maritime tradition of Cyprus can be traced back to more than 3500 years. This is a testament of the Island’s central role as a trade, commercial and meeting hub at the crossroads of maritime routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, linking together people, ideas and civilizations.
Cyprus is currently a fully developed maritime centre, combining both a strong sovereign flag and a resident shipping industry, which is renowned for its high-quality services and standards of safety.
The Cyprus Ship Registry has developed over the last 60 years into a quality and important Registry ranking amongst the top worldwide.
Today, Cyprus is the largest third-party shipmanagement centre in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The shipping cluster comprises a multitude of shipping services providing companies, thus making Cyprus a well-rounded maritime centre.
Cyprus and the IMO
Since becoming a Member of the IMO in 1973, Cyprus is an active and constructive partner in the Organization’s endeavours to continuously enhance maritime safety, security and environmental protection and places the utmost importance towards ensuring that the seafarers serving on board are provided with appropriate education and training to reflect the difficult challenges of the working and living conditions on board in order to facilitate the carriage of seaborne trade and to assist search and rescue at sea.
Cyprus actively promotes the important and central role of the IMO and attributes paramount importance to ensuring that the IMO maintains its role as the sole and leading global regulator of a safe, secure, and environmentally sound world fleet.
Cyprus’ contribution to the work of IMO has been extensive and consistent throughout the years and has relied on Cyprus’ long standing policy of bridging the gap between developed and developing States, Flag, Port and Coastal States, as well as achieving a financial stability and sustainability for IMO and its affiliated institutions.
Commitments
Environmental issues have attracted the attention of the international community, and the need to mitigate climate change has become an immediate necessity. Cyprus will continue working constructively both at IMO and at EU level to ensure that shipping continues to make a meaningful contribution towards the protection of the environment and to minimize the adverse effects of climate change. As an island with a maritime tradition, Cyprus contributes constructively to the transition of shipping to a low, or even zero, carbon industry by achieving the green transformation.
Digitalisation is an integral part of our daily lives and is becoming increasingly important in all areas of shipping. It is, therefore, important that the IMO takes the lead in promoting harmonised and standardised digitalisation and raising the bar on the approach towards cyber risk management, for the benefit of a resilient maritime supply chain. In its efforts to bridge the digital divide and address cyber security, the IMO can rest assured that Cyprus will be an active and close ally.
Women should be empowered in all sectors on a non-discriminatory basis. Cyprus has always been a strong supporter of gender equality and diversity and promotes women empowerment and the role of women in maritime. To underline the significance, attached to this issue, Cyprus has put forward a candidate, for the IMO Gender Equality Award. Moreover, it promotes and supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal in respect of gender equality and works towards ensuring diversity and equal employment opportunities to all.
Undoubtedly seafarers are key and essential workers of the maritime industry. The inadequate supply of qualified seafarers and the continuously declining interest of young people for a seafaring career makes the reinforcement of the seafaring profession imperative and necessary. Cyprus, aiming to inform, inspire and attract the younger generation to pursue careers in maritime professions, is in the process of implementing a comprehensive competence education/training framework with a view to support the needs of the maritime industry. Furthermore, the Cyprus Maritime Administration is actively campaigning, in cooperation with the IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassador, each academic year, at schools, informing students about shipping, shipping studies and shipping professions.
Cyprus will continue to initiate and support proposals to the IMO Council that aim at improving the working methods of the Council, the Committees and Sub-Committees. The goal is for the Organization to become even more efficient in achieving the strategic directions adopted and addressing the new challenges that lie ahead.
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