On the occasion of the “Maritime Cyprus 2019” Conference, which will take place on 6 – 9 October 2019, a press conference was held on Friday, 27th September 2019, at 10:00 p.m., at the Presidential Palace. Maritime Cyprus is one of the most important maritime conferences worldwide, and this year more than 800 delegates from over 40 countries are expected to attend, including many world-renowned shipping executives and personalities.

During the press conference, the Shipping Deputy Minister to the President, Ms Natasa Pilides, the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Conference and Permanent Secretary of the Shipping Deputy Ministry, Mr Costas Iacovou, as well as representatives of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, presented this year’s Conference.

The Shipping Deputy Minister, Ms Natasa Pilides stated that Cyprus is one of the most important shipping centres in the world with an integrated infrastructure across the spectrum of shipping and shipping-related activities. Cyprus is one of the largest ship management centres in the world and the largest in Europe, with a young, high quality fleet, that ranks eleventh in the world and third in the European Union. “During the last year there has been an increase in the Cypriot fleet and a continuous growth development of our maritime cluster” said Mrs Pilides.

Reference was also made to the contribution of shipping to the Cyprus economy and the objective of all stakeholders to further enhance and grow the Cyprus maritime cluster.

As reported by the Shipping Deputy Minister, the Maritime Cyprus Conference, which will be celebrating 30 years since it was first organised back in 1989, has gained great momentum and now ranks as one of the largest shipping conferences in the world, attracting to Cyprus hundreds of maritime executives from all over the world.

The main theme of this year’s Conference is “SEA CHANGE”. The Official Opening of the Conference will take place on Sunday, 6th October 2019, at the Parklane Resort and Spa, in Limassol. During the Opening Reception, the winner of the “Cyprus Maritime Award 2019” will be announced and bestowed.

The working part of the Conference will be held in Limassol, at the “Carob Mill Conference Centre”, between 7th and 9th October 2019. The Official Opening of the working part will take place on Monday, 7th October 2019, at 09:05 a.m., by H.E. the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Distinguished guests such as the IMO Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Kitack Lim, representatives from the European Commission and world class experts will analyze and discuss specialised issues of concern to the shipping industry. Renowned personalities such as the Presidents of the International Shipping Chamber (ICS), the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), BIMCO and many world-class shipowners will be taking part in the conference.

The Shipping Deputy Minister presented in brief the Conference Agenda, which will consist of 7 interesting panel discussions and 2 extremely interesting key-note presentations.

On Monday, 7th October, three panel discussions will take place. The first panel will focus on the current and future regulatory framework for shipping while the second panel on the new landscape for shipowners. The third panel will discuss the future of international shipping and whether there are any (much awaited) brighter days ahead. On Tuesday, 8th October, a debate on environmental issues will be held, while a Key note speech and discussion on how “Change is Managing” will take place on the second panel. On the same day, an interactive afternoon session entitled “Register your Voice”, for young shipping professionals, will be held. On Wednesday, 9th October, the discussion on the first panel will deal with the new skills required in the seafaring profession (seafarer to e-farer), while a key note speech about market forecasting will follow. Finally, discussions will focus around new ways of raising finance in what is and has been a challenging market for years.

Concluding, the organizers thanked all the sponsors for their support and their contribution to the organization of the Conference. In particular, they thanked the Platinum sponsor of the Conference, Eurobank Cyprus, the Gold sponsors: Bank of Cyprus and American Hellenic Hull Insurance, the Silver sponsors: Bureau Veritas Cyprus, Hellenic Bank, PwC Cyprus, DNV GL, Fameline Holding Group, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Ltd, Island Oil Holdings Ltd and the bronze sponsors KPMG Ltd, ABS Europe, FML Ship Management, EY Cyprus (Ernst & Young), Baker Tilly, Deloitte, SCF Management Services, Lloyd’s Register, FRS Shipmanagement, Limassol Marina.