WE VALUE YOUR NEEDSShipping & Ship Management

Today the numbers of shipping vessels sailing under the flag of Cyprus has significantly increased and continues to do so due to its key geographical position. Trading shipping is on the position of the highest importance in the world shipping industry. Shipping Law in Cyprus is regulated by the Department of Merchant Shipping, which was established in 1977. At present, the authorities have offices in Hamburg, London, New York, Piraeus and Brussels.

Keyoforce professional team gained valuable, meaningful experience in providing various clients from large corporations to small-sized companies with shipping services such as:

• Registration of shipping companies
• Vessel registration under the Cyprus flag
• Transfer of ownership of vessels
• Applying for investments of vessels constructions
• Advice on shipping insurance
• Payroll of crew

According to the Shipping Law, the vessel shall be registered under the Cyprus flag on the following conditions:

• More than half of the shares of the vessel must be owned by citizens of Cyprus or citizens of EU member states, which, if necessary, may designate an authorized representative in Cyprus
• 100% of the shares of the vessel shall belong to the corporations that operate in accordance with the laws of Cyprus and have a registered office in its territory or they operate in accordance with the laws of other EU member states and has its registered office or principal place of business in the EU, registered out of Cyprus, and is managed by citizens of Cyprus or by the citizens of the EU countries

• Owners of the vessels who do not live in Cyprus, but wishing to register a vessel under the Cyprus flag must establish a Cyprus company, which later shall charter the vessel or acquire it under the company name
• The main types of vessel registration are temporary, permanent and parallel
• Under the law of Cyprus only lawyers have the rights of the preparation of constituent documents and registration of vessels
• The annual fees depends on the tonnage and age of the vessel

Cyprus has a large number of signed agreements on avoiding double taxation, many bilateral and international agreements. Cyprus has a well-developed maritime infrastructure; government activity is directly aimed on the development of shipping industry.

Registration and activities of shipping companies in Cyprus has many advantages such as:

• There is no tax on capital in the sale or transfer of a ship or shares
  in a shipping company
• Cyprus has concluded an agreement on avoidance of double taxation with more than 50 countries
• No charges of stamp duty on bills of sale and mortgages on ships and
  other similar documents
• Shipping companies are virtually exempt from all taxes
• Company owners of the vessels are under no obligations to file annual audited financial statements
• There is no withheld income tax from wages of employees of offices and crew of Cyprus ships operating in the international waters

• Offshore companies are engaged in all kinds of shipping activities and enjoy the same tax privileges as other offshore companies
• The fee for registration of the vessel and the annual tonnage fee are lower than in other jurisdictions
• The amount of fees and charges payable depends on the type of registration (temporary or permanent), age and gross tonnage of the vessel. Cyprus legislation allows the parallel registration of the vessel (without crew)
• Costs for registration of the vessel and its maintenance are minimal

Keyforce offers a full range of services for the registration and management of yachts and any other types of vessels. We can help you to prepare a complete package of documents required for the registration and we will undertake all the processes of this procedure.

Besides Cyprus, Keyforce offers services for the ship registration, withdrawal from registration, sale of the vessel in other offshore jurisdictions:

• Greece
• in Jersey
• The Marshall Islands
• Panama
• Seychelles
• Liberia
• Delaware
• The Bahamas
• Malta
• Belize
• British Virgin Islands