CYPRUS MARITIME LAW
1) What is the Cyprus Government Policy on the Registration of Fees?
1.1. The Cyprus Government Policy on the Registration of Ships (the Policy) has been determined by the Minister of Communications and Works pursuant to the provisions of sections 14A and 14B of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships, Sales and Mortgages) Laws 1963 to 2005.
1.2. The Policy states the additional requirements or conditions for the registration of ships which are deemed necessary for the achievement of safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans and should always be read in conjunction with the relevant provisions of the statutes of the Republic of Cyprus.
1.3. The conditions under which the registration of a ship is initially allowed continue to apply:
(1) irrespective of any subsequent amendments or revisions of the government policy for the registration of ships under the provisions of which the registration of the ship is allowed;
(2) irrespective of any subsequent transfers or transmissions in accordance with the provisions of Part VI of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships, Sales and Mortgages) Laws 1963 to 2005 or registration anew in accordance with the provisions of Part XI of the aforesaid laws;
(3) in the case of registration in the Register of Cyprus Ships of a ship which immediately prior to such registration was registered in the Special Book of Parallel Registration or vice versa, provided the formalities for the registration are completed within 24 hours from the time the ship has ceased to fly the Cyprus flag; and
(4) in case the registration of a ship in the Special Book of Parallel Registration is terminated due to:
(a) transfer of ownership; or
(b) termination of the bareboat chartering of the ship,
and the bareboat charterer applies, before or immediately after such termination, for the registration of the ship in the Special Book of Parallel Registration, provided the formalities are completed within 24 hours from the time the ship has ceased to fly the Cyprus flag.
1.4 The Policy supersedes and replaces, as from 15 October 2011, the Government Policy on the Registration of Ships which has been in effect since 1 July 2009 (the 2009 Policy) (refer to Circular No. 14/2009).
1.5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1.3(1), the registered owner or registered bareboat charterer of a ship whose registration was allowed under the provisions of the 2009 Policy or of earlier ones, as the case may be, may apply for substitution of the conditions which were imposed at the time of the initial registration of the ship with those stipulated in the Policy for ships of the same type and/or age. For this purpose, the age of the ship will be the age the ship had at the time of its’ initial registration.
1.6.The interpretation of the Policy is and remains the exclusive prerogative of the Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping (the Director) and of the Registrar of Cyprus ships (the Registrar), as the case may be.
1.7. The determination of the age and of the type of the ship for the purposes of the application of the provisions of the Policy is and remains the exclusive prerogative of the Director and of the Registrar, as the case may be.
2) Are there any eligibility criteria for the registration of ships and if yes, what are they?
2.1 Ships of any type or size, other than those specified in section 2.2, may be registered in the Register of Cyprus Ships or the Special Book of Parallel Registration, provided the applicable age-related requirements specified in section 2.3 and the applicable type-related requirements specified in section 2.4 are complied with.
2.2 Ships which do not qualify for registration
2.2.1 The Registrar of Cyprus Ships will not consider applications for the registration in the Register of Cyprus Ships or in the Special Book of Parallel Registration of ships which:
(1) at the time of the application for their registration, are banned on port State control grounds by a State member of any one of the Memoranda of Understanding on port State control, from entering the ports of the States party to that memorandum or which have been banned by a State from entering its ports;
(2) have been detained on port State control grounds on three (3) or more occasions during the two (2) years period prior to the date of application for registration by States members of the Paris or the Tokyo or the Mediterranean Memoranda of Understanding on port State control or by the United States Coast Guard; and (3) have been constructed for exclusive use on inland navigation or which are to be used exclusively on inland navigation (e.g. in internal waters, rivers, inland waterways, canals, natural or artificial lakes, water reservoirs or dams).
2.3 Age-related requirements
2.3.1 For the purpose of the Policy “age” means the age of the ship which is calculated by deducting the year in which the keel of the ship was laid from the year in which the application for its registration was filed with the Registrar of Cyprus Ships, provided its provisional, direct permanent or parallel-in registration is to take place during the same year. Otherwise, the age of the ship will be calculated from the year in which the provisional, direct permanent or parallel-in registration is to take place.
2.3.1.1 In case a ship has undergone major conversion or reconstruction, the year in which the major conversion or reconstruction begun may be taken into account (in lieu of the year in which its keel was laid) for the calculation of the age of the ship, provided the ship, at the end of the major conversion or reconstruction, complied with all the requirements of the applicable international treaties to which Cyprus is a State Party, as if it was a new ship whose keel was laid in the year in which the major conversion or reconstruction begun. In such a case the application for the registration of the ship should be accompanied by documentation from the recognized organization which is surveying and certifying the ship on behalf of its flag State or from its flag State attesting so.
2.3.1.2 In the case of recreational craft falling within the scope of Directive 94/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft, as amended and as it may be amended and in force at the particular time, in lieu of the year in which the keel of the ship was laid or the major conversion or reconstruction took place, the year of production as marked on the craft and of the major craft conversion, as defined in the directive, will be considered.
2.3.2 The registration in the Register of Cyprus Ships or the Special Book of Parallel Registration of the ships of the types specified in the table below may be allowed provided:
(1) the age of the ship does not exceed the maximum age limit corresponding to the type of the ship; and
(2) the related conditions corresponding to the type of the ship (i.e. entry inspection and additional inspection) are complied with.
2.3.3 The entry inspection and the additional inspections specified in the table below are required to be carried out in case the age of the ship is equal or greater than the number of years indicated under the related conditions corresponding to the type of the ship.
2.3.4 The entry inspection and the additional inspections should be carried out within the time frames to be specified in a new Circular on Registration of ships - Requirements for the entry and additional inspections of ships in the coming weeks. Until the issuance of such Circular, the relevant provisions of the 2009 Policy shall apply.
2.4 Type-related requirements
2.4.1 General
2.4.1.1 The registration in the Register of Cyprus Ships or the Special Book of Parallel Registration of the ships may be allowed provided the requirements set out in this section which relate to the type of the ship are complied with.
2.4.2 Passenger and cargo ships
2.4.2.1 Passenger ships, high speed passenger ships, cargo ships and high speed cargo ships engaged on international voyages, including short international voyages, should engage for sea training cadets who are permanent residents of the Republic of Cyprus, if requested by the Director.
2.4.3 Fishing vessels
2.4.3.1 For the purpose of the Policy “fishing vessel” means those ships, which are employed in fishing operations or for the processing, storage or carriage of fish (fish is used as a collective term and includes molluscs, crustaceans and any aquatic animal which is harvested) or in any operations (including transhipment of fish) ancillary thereto, but it does not include any ship used for the transport of fish or fish products as part of a general cargo.
2.4.3.2 The Registrar will not consider applications for the registration of fishing vessels unless they are accompanied by an official communication from the Director of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, informing the Registrar of Cyprus ships that the registration of the fishing vessel in question is allowed.
2.4.3.3 Fishing vessels which, in accordance with Article 1(1) of the Council Directive 97/70/EC of 11 December 1997 setting up a harmonized safety regime for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over, as amended and as it may be amended and in force at the particular time, are outside the scope of the directive, are required, as the Director may in each case determine:
(1) to be classed with one of the recognized organizations;
(2) to comply with the codes, guidelines, recommendations and standards of the International Maritime Organization and/or of the International Labour Organization and/or of the Food and Agricultural Organization and/or of the European Union which are relevant to their type and to be surveyed and certified to that effect by one of the recognized organizations.
2.4.4 Other types
2.4.4.1 Ships other than those which are required to be surveyed and certified in accordance with the provisions of the international treaties to which Cyprus is a State Party or passenger ships or passenger high speed craft engaged on domestic voyages within the territory of Cyprus or fishing vessels or recreational craft, are required, as the Director may in each case determine:
(1) to be classed with one of the recognized organizations;
(2) to comply with the codes, guidelines, recommendations and standards of the International Maritime Organization and/or of the International Labour Organization and/or of the European Union which are relevant to their type and to be surveyed and certified to that effect by one of the recognized organizations.
3. What does Maritime Safety and Security Division at the Cyprus Shipping Registry cover?
The Maritime Safety and Security Division is responsible for the interpretation of the SOLAS 74/78, LOADLINES 66, COLREGS 72 and TONNAGE 69 conventions as amended, the STP 71 Agreement and the SPACE STP 73 protocol CSC 72, ISPS Code and consideration of issues concerning these, tonnage measurement of ships, matters concerning passenger ships, small (non convention)ships, fishing vessels, MODU. COLREG contraventions, approval of stability booklets and cargo securing manuals; Matters concerning Radio Communications, GMDSS, LRIT and allocation of MMSI and SELCAL numbers are also dealt with by the Maritime Safety and Security Division.
4. Has Cyprus enacted a relevant Law which regulates the Protection of Cyprus Ships against Acts of Piracy and Other Unlawful Acts?
Yes. In fact Cyprus is one of the first countries which understood the dangers of maritime piracy and thus it enacted The Protection of Cyprus Ships Against Acts of Piracy and Other Unlawful Acts Law of 2012 (Law 77(I)/2012).
5. How much does it cost for the registration of a Cyprus Vessel?
Although Cyprus has much to offer in terms of infrastructure and maritime administration ultimately the bottom line is costs. In terms of registration fees and taxes, Cyprus is considered to be among the most competitive shipping centres in the world. The fees listed below are lower than those of Cyprus’ main competitors.
The fees are expressed in EURO (€). The registration fees are calculated as follows:
For vessels other than passenger ships:
GROSS TONNAGE |
FEES (€) |
For each gross unit up to 5.000 |
0,170860 |
For each gross unit between 5.001-10.000 |
0,136688 |
For each gross unit over 10.000 |
0,068344 |
The minimum fee is €213,58 and the maximum fee is €5.125,80 |
|
For passenger ships:
GROSS TONNAGE |
FEES (€) |
For each gross unit |
0,256290 |
Minimum fee |
427,15 |
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