Manning of Cyprus Ships

Cyprus Ship Registry at a Glance

Ownership requirements:

A) More than half of the shares of the ship must be owned by Cypriot citizens or by citizens of Member States of the EU or of the European Economic Area who in the instance of not being permanent residents of the Republic will have to appoint an authorised representative in the Republic of Cyprus, or

B) The total (100%) of the shares of the ship must be owned by corporations, which operate in accordance with the laws of the Republic and have their registered office in the Republic of Cyprus, or they operate in accordance with the laws of any other EU or EEA Member State and have their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the European Economic Area or by corporations registered outside the EU or the EEA but controlled by Cypriot citizens or citizens of a Member State. In both the latter cases they must have either appointed an authorised representative in Cyprus or the management of the ship must be entrusted in full to a Cypriot or Community shipmanagement company in Cyprus.

· Applications for registration of ships must be made through Cypriot lawyers.
· At the time of its registration, the ship must be surveyed by an approved classification society.

Types of Registration:
Provisional, Permanent, Parallel (Parallel in, Parallel out)

Registration fees:
There is a fee payable on provisional registration between a minimum of CY£125 (€213,58) and a maximum of CY£3.000 (€5.125,80) depending on the GT of the ship. The tariff differs for passenger vessels. No other fee is payable on permanent registration provided this takes place before the provisional registration expires. An annual Tonnage tax is payable according to the tonnage and age of the ship with discounts if the crew and technical management of the ship is carried out entirely by a Cypriot or EU shipmanagement company.

Government Policy for the Registration of Cyprus ships over 15 years of age
Vessels of any size and type having an age exceeding 15 years, may be registered in the Cyprus Register of Ships or the Special Book of Parallel Registration as long as they comply with the provisions contained in the merchant shipping legislation and the circulars of the Department of Merchant Shipping, pass an entry inspection and satisfy certain other requirements.

Approved Classification Societies:
ABS, LRS, DNV, BV, GL, RINA, HRS, NKK, KRS, CCS, RS, PRS.

Crew Nationality:
Crew members may be of any nationality provided they are holders of certificates of competency issued by one of the countries, whose certificates of competency Cyprus has recognised.

International conventions adopted:
SOLAS, MARPOL, LL, CLC, INMARSAT, STCW, COLREG, TONNAGE, FUND, LDC, CSC, SUA, STP, SAR, HNS, BUNKERS, LLMC, FAL, AFS, ILO.

Advantages:

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 Cyprusregistered vessel or the shares of a vessel owning company.
No income tax on the wages of officers and crew.
No estate duty on the inheritance of shares in a shipowning company.
No stamp duty on ship mortgage deeds or other security documents.
Double tax treaties with 42 countries.