The aim of our Shipping Department is to attend to the needs of ship owners, ship operators and other professionals engaged in shipping and related business.
Our department specializes in providing Cyprus, BVI, Malta, Belize, Dominica and Marshall Islands flag services.
With reference to the Cyprus Shipping Flag, Cyprus is considered to be a prime choice for international business and shipping. The registry is now ranked as the 10th largest merchant fleet globally and the 3rd largest fleet within the EU, with a registered gross tonnage exceeding 21 million.
Cyprus is one of largest and most renowned shipping centres in the world, comprising both ship owning and ship management companies. Its leading maritime structure continues to gain strength by maintaining competitive registration costs and a favourable taxation structure. Cyprus has the only EU-approved “Open Registry” regime with a vast Tonnage Tax System that is legally endorsed and which incorporates the three principle “maritime transport” activities, namely ship owning, ship management and chartering.
Cyprus’ commitment to safety and quality is evidenced by the classification of the Cyprus flag in the ‘White List’ of the Paris and the Tokyo MOUs on Port State Control, as well as its exclusion from the “List of Targeted Flag States” of the U.S. Coast Guard.
ADVANTAGES
- Economic benefits.
- No tax on profits from the operation or management of a Cyprus-registered vessel or on dividends received from a vessel owning company.
- No capital gains tax on the sale or transfer of a Cyprus-registered vessel or the shares of a vessel owning company.
- No income tax on the wages of officers and crew.
- Low registration costs.
- Favourable tonnage tax scheme based on ship gross tonnage.
- No stamp duty on ship mortgage deeds or other security documents.
- Double tax treaties with 43 countries.
- No exchange control and freedom of movement of foreign currency
- Full protection for financiers and mortgagees.
- Low set up and operating costs for companies.
OTHER ADVANTAGES
- EU flag
- Classification of Cyprus flag in the White List of the Paris and Tokyo MOUs and removal from the “List of Targeted Flag States” of the US Coast Guard resulting in fewer inspections of the ships and less delays at the ports of both MOUs.
- Maritime offices in New York, London, Rotterdam, Piraeus, Brussels and Hamburg, offering services to Cyprus ships.
- A network of local inspectors of Cyprus ships, covering important ports worldwide in order to ensure efficient and effective control of Cypriot vessels and to avoid detentions by port state control.
- Signatory to all international maritime conventions on safety and pollution prevention.
- Bilateral agreements with 23 countries, through which Cypriot ships receive either national or favoured nation treatment in the ports of other countries. Those agreements with labour supplying countries provide for specific terms of employment which are beneficial to both the shipowners and the seafarers.
- Efficient and qualitative provision of services by the Department of Merchant Shipping.
Our registration services include:
- Registration of shipping companies
- Ship and yacht registration
- Parallel registration
- Transfer of ownership / name
- Change of name
- Recording, transfer and discharge of mortgage
- Issuance of STCW endorsement
- Payroll management
