Cyprus Union of Shipowners

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Abigail Wiggins
5 years ago
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1 Your Excellencies, The Acting President of the Republic Mr. Christofias The Former President of the Republic Mr. Clerides Ministers Party Leaders Members of Parliament Ambassadors Distinguished guests Let me first offer a warm welcome to our English speaking friends. On behalf of the Cyprus Union of Shipowners I welcome you to this gathering on the occasion of the biennial festivities of the Cyprus Shipping. And for our Chinese delegation: Wansa Hao, Wo Dai Biao / Sai Pu Lu Si (Cyprus) / Chuan Dong / Lian He hui / Huan Ying / Da Jia / Dao Lai For the benefit of our guests from abroad there is a small note in front of each guest of what I will be saying in Greek.

2 Gentlemen, what are you interested in? Are you good swimmers? Would you like to embark in the shipping industry? Would you like to become shipowners? or do you simply want to hear about Cyprus Shipping? I am sure you have learned that for the last 4 or 5 years the shipping industry is performing nicely. Return on capital exceeds 40 per cent per annum. So, why you are sitting idle? The room is full of the best shipbrokers in the world like Clarksons, S.S.Y. who are represented by their Chairman and my friend John Welham, Fearnleys, Leo Shipbrokers, and many others not less important but too numerous for me to mention. Amongst us is the Chinese Delegation representing the State Shipbuilding Industry of China headed by Messrs. XU ZIQIU, HE RONGGUANG, LI TIANBAO and my friend the Ambassador of China Mr. Zhao Yali. All of them ready to accept your shipbuilding orders.

3 Finally, if you need a loan for your shipping purchases, don t worry. With us we have Bankers whose shipping portofolio is several-fold of the Cyprus Budget. A word of caution however: The boom is always followed by a trough and there are nasty waves on the way. Dr. Ilias Visvikis, in his book Trends and Developments in Shipping writes: The origin of the term hedging is unclear, but it appears to derive from the use of the hedges, to form a protective or defensive barrier around property. The late Papazias, a Cypriot folklore poet from Prastio Messaorias who wrote verses on numerous contemporary events, writes in one of his scripts: What is the origin of the words vraka and vraki Have you fenced your vineyard? Have you fenced your property? Hence the derivatives: hedge and vramos and vraka and vraki. * vraka is the traditional pleated costume of Cypriot men worn instead of trousers ** vraki are male underpants *** vramos is a fence If large profits involve large risks then the words of the late poet Papazias and professor Visvikis are becoming most applicable. Therefore,

4 Do not forget the hedging or the fence or simply the vramos. Fence your vineyard. Fence your property, and carry on. My friend, the Minister of Finance of the Republic, I am not aware, with the imminent introduction of the Euro on the Island, how the new Budget of the Country will appear, but comparing the Government Budget with the Billions of dollars lent to the Shipping Industry by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Schiffsbank, Deutsche Bank, Eurobank, the National Bank of Greece, Marfin Laiki Popular Bank and lately the Bank of Cyprus leads to a single and safe conclusion: It is not the shipowners alone but also the Bankers who believe in our industry. Here in Cyprus, do we believe in shipping? Which shipping do we believe in? Do we need the shipowner? Does this industry offer anything good to us, to you, or to Cyprus? The role of Cyprus Shipping is not restricted to what many of us call offshore companies, based in Limassol and offering various services to shipowners, such as crew recruitment or brokerage in chartering or sale and purchase. These are only by-products produced by the real shipping industry. They are important side-products of shipping but not enough for the island.

5 The role of the Cyprus Shipping Industry and of the Cyprus flag are far more important. More important than their financial contribution to the government budget. The Cyprus-flag veesels are practically unpaid Roving Ambassadors of our Country, sailing from port to port, from country to country, bringing with them the presence of Cyprus around the Globe. Imagine about 1,000 ships flying the Cyprus flag arriving and departing from ports on a daily basis, issuing bills of lading negotiated with International Banks, being supplied by thousands of shipchandlers all over the world and being attended by thousand of shipping agents globally. European, American and Asian Banks are financing the Cyprus-Flag Fleet with Billions of Dollars. The Cyprus name and the Cyprus Flag are referred to daily in loans, in shipping mortgages, in charter-parties, in shipping documents, in shipyards, Classification Societies, Insurance Houses and Brokerage Firms. Billion Dollar deals are concluded regularly based on the good faith and trust of the Cyprus Flag and its shipowners. Just imagine if the Registry and its shipowners did not exist. Here in Nicosia and in the government offices we do not understand the true shipping industry and its shipowners. We do not know them because they never raise any demands. They never request tax exemptions or subsidies. Let us examine, if you like, the financial benefits arising from shipowning:

6 Shipowners are the people who are financing the existence of the Department of Merchant Shipping and contribute generously to its expansion. And even more generously they contribute to the Cyprus Economy by means of fees for the incorporation of companies, legal fees accounting and representation expenses. On the rare occasions the Cypriot shipowners have approached the government, it was merely for the purpose of suggesting practicable measures with no cost at all for the country. Therefore let the government listen to their views and explore their concerns. It will be beneficial to all of us. The Cyprus Union of Shipowners remain permanent supporters of the Cyprus Flag, and our members remain ready, able, and willing to provide their knowledge and experience necessary for the Cyprus Flag to expand. With these thoughts in mind, Mr. Acting President of the Republic, and Distinguished guests I welcome you to the Cyprus Shipping gathering and to the Dinner hosted by our Union. Enjoy the buffet and have a pleasant evening! Charalambos Mylonas Chairman Cyprus Union of Shipowners

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