Cyprus is a one of the world's most important locations for ship management, with around 60 ship management companies operating in its territory, several of which rank among the largest of their kind in the world. Cyprus-based ship management companies employ almost 40,000 seafarers including 5,000 EU nationals, and the total fleet managed from Cyprus is estimated to account for 20% of the world third-party ship management market.
Since 2009 the Central Bank of Cyprus has carried out semi-annual market surveys, covering residents of Cyprus who provide ship management services to ship owning companies registered in Cyprus and abroad. The surveys collect data on the financial transactions (revenues and expenses) between resident ship management companies and non-residents of Cyprus.
The most recent survey, which covers the second half of 2017, was published on 27 April. Its main findings are as follows:
- Ship management revenues increased to €476 million during the second half of 2017, recording an increase of €4 million compared with the previous assessment period, slightly lower than general GDP growth during the same period.
- The main export destination for the services of the ship management industry was Germany, which accounted for 37 percent. Russia (8 percent) and Singapore, Malta and Switzerland (6 percent each) were the next most important.
- The sector's payments abroad, which mainly comprised crew wages, crew training expenses, engineering expenses and general administrative expenses, declined by 3% compared with the first half of 2017.
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