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martes, 29 de septiembre de 2009

‘There will always be a demand for ships’

Source: Cyprus Mail

TACKLING the shipping crisis, exacerbated by the international financial crisis is one of the main issues on the agenda at the Maritime Cyprus conference, which opened at the Evagoras Lanitis Centre in Limassol yesterday.

The biennial international shipping gathering, which this year is titled: ‘A Challenging Climate: Emerging Opportunities’, will also deal with issues such as global climate change, piracy, the manning shortage faced by the sector and emission reduction.

“Because of the financial crisis we must renew our efforts, widen our measures to support the shipping sector, which may help us, may contribute to our exit from the crisis,” said Nicos Nicolaides, Minister of Communications and Works in his address at the official opening of the conference.

“Cyprus shipping has a leading role in the world stage and the intention of our government is to further strengthen this role and support Cypriot shipping through specific programmes, positive planning, new tax packages, motive-setting, infrastructure and all that range of services and actions necessary to retain and extend the role of Cyprus in the top spots of international commercial shipping,” Nicolaides added.

Maritime stakeholders also appear to be confident that the shipping sector will continue to be sustainable despite the crisis. “During the past two years, we have seen one of the worst financial crises ever recorded- it was only natural that, along with others, it put shipping to a tough test,” said Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

“There is one thing, however, of which we can all be fairly certain: no matter how global markets may contract, expand or otherwise metamorphose, there will always be a demand for ships and shipping to be the delivery mechanism of global trade; and I have every confidence that the industry we serve will continue to respond to that demand effectively and efficiently,” Mitropoulos added.

The conference, held in Cyprus every two years since 1989, acts as a forum for the discussion of current shipping-related issues. This year the Maritime Conference has attracted over 800 attendants from across 35 countries, including notable personalities for international shipping such as the Vice-president of the European commission and the EU’s Energy Commissioner.

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