Annual General Meeting of the CSC

25.06.2019

The Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber

The Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol on 30th May 2019. The meeting took place with participation of: the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, the Chairman of the ICS Mr. Esben Poulsson and the V-ce President of the ECSA Claes Berglung.

The Main point of the meeting was the elcetion of the new Board of Directors. The Director General explained the relevant voting procedure. He stated that from all  candidates the Members will choose 12 persons. Afterthat he presented the candidates and invite the Members to vote. After the results were announced, the new Board was formed.

Mr. Philippos Philis was appointed as the new boards President. We wish him good luck, as we know the Chamber supports Shipping Deputy Ministry of Shipping to her efforts with negociations with the European Commission in regards to the tonnage tax law renew. The whole industry is looking forward  for the possitive results. This end the close session of the meeting.

The open session was opened by Mr. Themis Papadopoulos, stepping President of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber.

He made special reference to the Chamber’s successful completion of 30 years since its establishment and its important contribution. He expressed his appreciation to the Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Mr. Esben Poulsson and the Vice-President of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), Mr. Claes Berglund who attended and addressed the Annual General Meeting on the occasion of the Chamber’s 30th Year Anniversary. The President also focused on the crucial cross-road that global shipping faces with regard to its future in view of the global shift away from fossil fuels and the pressure of drastic improvements in carbon emissions from the IMO. He also expressed his satisfaction for the tangible benefits to the Shipping Industry during the one year of operation of the Shipping Deputy Ministry. Special reference was made on the importance of lifting the Turkish Embargo on Cyprus ships, noting that its lifting would provide a strong force for the further development of the entire Cyprus Maritime Cluster. In addition, he expressed the view that the Cyprus Foundation of the Sea, will become a catalyst for Cyprus to realise its “Blue Growth” potential.

He sincerely thanked all his colleagues on the Board of Directors, for their close cooperation, trust and assistance they extended to him during their term of office. In view of the fact that Capt. Eberhard Koch was not standing for re-election at the new Board of Directors this time, he expressed his appreciation to Capt. Koch for his active participation and substantive input during the past years at the Board of Directors. At the end Mr. Papadopoulos thanked all Chamber Members, for their continued support over all these years that the Chamber has been in operation.   

All speeches delivered by the distniguished guests was focused on the good work done by Cypriot State and whole Cypriot maritime industry. The appointment of the Shipping Deputy Ministry was considered as a perfect solutions. Thanks to this special position it is much easier to lobby to Cypriot shipping business. It was stressed that Cyprus is an important member of worldwide shipping family. Mr. Anastasiades assured his full support for the shipping industry, which benefits the entire economy. The v-ce President of the ECSA stated that the whole european shipping industry should focused on one goal, which is to establish the position of the Commisioner for Shipping, within the framework of the European Union.