Re- election of the Republic of Cyprus to the IMO Council

AIDE MEMOIRE The maritime tradition of Cyprus spans more than three and a half thousand years. T he geostrategic location within three continents made C yprus an ideal commerce centre, with great interest in international shipping that attracts the attention of key players from the maritime business . Cyprus became fast one of the largest and leading shi p and crew management centres in the world , in terms of the number of ships being managed and the number of seafarers being employed. Cyprus has a young and modern fleet of international character in terms of number of ships, gross tonnage and deadweight capacity . In comparison to the world ’s merchant fleet it ranks among the largest in the world. For Cy prus it is important to preserve a fleet that will be safe , se cu re and environmental ly friendly , therefore , we value the importance of IMO as the leading organization for all regulatory matters to the international shipping and its efforts to actively promote its role as the international forum on matters within its competence and ensure and strengthen the linkage between safe, secure, efficient and environmentally friendly maritime transportation, the development of global trade, the world economy and the realization of the new United Nations agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Cypr us understands the necessity to promote s ustainable shipping and is committed to dynamically participate in the proceedings of the Internationa l Maritime Organization contributing to the improve ment of safety, security and pollution prevention. Having maintained this commitment , Cyprus was included in the “white list” of the Memoranda of Understanding on Port State Control in various geographical regions. Cyprus, will continue to strive to improve the strategic objectives of IMO by always bearing in mind that shipping remains, first and foremost a business endeavour, which delivers an essential public service to the world at relatively low cost, while operating under many varying regulations in different jurisdictions. Cyprus will always positively approach new regulations enhancing the improvement of safety, security and environmental protection by avoiding unnecessary additional cost s to the shipping industry. Over recent years, Cyprus was very active and constructive to the work of the Organization particularly in the area of protection of the environment, playing an important role in the on-going discussions for the adoption of measures that will contribute towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and setting the regulatory framework for the reduction of harmful substances emitted by ships . Cyprus participated to various working and correspondence groups aiming to improve the regulatory framework of passenger ship safety, which is very important after recent tragic accidents with the loss of many lives. Cyprus provides to the Organization the services of qualified professionals for the delivery of Technical Cooperation and Assistance to other Member States, in particular high qualified auditors and trainers in order to assist other Member States and IMO towards the successful implementation and the achievement of the objectives of the IMO Member State Audit Scheme and will continue to do so in order to assist IMO to assess the complete and effective implementation of IMO instruments. Cyprus strongly believes that well trained and educated seafarers is the key element to address standards of safety and security on board ships and the prev ention of pollution from ships. For that, Cyprus strongly supports the development of capacity- building activities under IMO’s ITCP and the coordination with ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention concerning maritime training and education, since the human element plays a vital and key role in the achievements of the purpose and goals of the Organization and seafarers provide the backbone of the shipping industry. Cyprus will continue making and supporting proposals to the IMO Council that aim to improve the working methods of the Committees and sub-Committees in order to become even more eff ective and ensure that they can successfully deliver their outputs. Therefore , we believe that the countries participating in the Council need: T o exercise a finely balanced assertive role over the Committees and Sub-Committee s . T o continue the impeccable and constructive cooperation with the Secretariat of the Organization. T o develop the necessary organizing tools in order to assess the progress of the achieved long term and short term action plans set by the Organization. F urther improve the prioritization of tools a vailable for categorizing more efficient ly the future actions plans of the Organization. To help the development of the performance indicators that can provide feedback to IMO in order to improve processes, efficiency and the effectiveness of the work delivered by the Organization. To help the O rganization implement the Strategic Directions for the period 2018-2023 and contribute to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the 169 targets agreed by the United Nations Member States. To help the Organization in the development and implementation of new and existing requirements that take into account the human element and the seafarers. Since becoming a Member of the IMO in 1973, Cyprus has played a positive constructive role in the Organization’s endeavours to achieve the objectives of maritime safety and environmental protection and improve the living conditions of the seafarers on board the ships. Cyprus will also continue with determination to contribut e consistently to the efforts for enhancing maritime security and to the facilitation o f the maritime traffic worldwide. Cyprus is pleased to note, that in recent years, more and more Member States especially small nations, as well as developing, least developed countries and Small Island Developing States, show increasing keen interest in the work and the affairs of the IMO. Cyprus as a small state itself promises to continue relying in the long standing policy of bridging the gap between developed and developing States, Flag and Port States, as well as achieving a financial stability for IMO and its affiliated institutions, such as the World Maritime University, IMLI and IMSSEA. Cyprus believes that this is achievable through constructive cooperation, a genuine willingness to listen and accommodate the concerns of others and the avoidance of confrontations, which are a natural consequence of the diversity of shipping-related interests. Cyprus believes that the challenges for international shipping are many and will further intensify due to the increase of the International seaborne trade. It is certain that people will continue to travel by sea, seafarers will continue to be employed on board ships and the carriage of goods by sea will continue to be essential to the development of the world’s economy. The growing global population and socioeconomic development necessitate the carriage of mor e goods by sea . This, in turn, simply means higher degrees of exposure to the perils of the sea and consequentially there will be higher risks for accidents or pollution of the environment to occur. The successful prediction and effective management of these risks are essential and vital for the successful future of the Organisation. The Republic of Cyprus promise s to continue making an important contribution to the work of the Organization and, therefore, seeks re-election to the Council of the IMO under the provisions of Article 17(c) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization. For these reasons, Cyprus hopes that the esteemed Governments of the Member States of the Organization will lend us their support for a successful, re-election as a member of the Council of the IMO. This renewed support will be much appreciated and valued and will further reinforce Cyprus ’s determination to serve the Organization and its membership and to work towards the fulfilment of the Organization’s mission and the achievement of its purpose, goals and objectives. Nicosia, October 2017 Saatja: Rene Arikas <[email protected]> Saatmisaeg: 25. oktoober 2017. a. 21:08 Adressaat: Keiu Leopard Teema: FW: Re- election of the Republic of Cyprus to the IMO Council Manused: ten 4.28.08.02.02 - estonia.doc.pdf; Aide Memoire _ Cyprus candidature to IMO Council 2018-2019-1.docx Dsse From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2017 1:34 PM To: Rene Arikas <[email protected]> Subject: Re- election of the Republic of Cyprus to the IMO Council Please find attached letter for the above subject. Regards Ioannis Efstratiou Acting Director Department of Merchant Shipping Tel : +357 25848229 Fax : +357 25848200 Email : [email protected] .gov.cy Website : www .shipping. gov. cy Postal Address : P. O. Box 56193, 3305 Limassol Cyprus REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS DEPARTMENT MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, OF MERCHANT SHIPPING COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKS LEMESOS Our Ref.: TEN.4.28.08.02.02 25 October 2017 Mr. Rene Arikas Director General Estonian Maritime Administration Tallinn Dear Mr. Arikas, Subject: Re- election of the Republic of Cyprus to the IMO Council I am pleased to inform you that the Republic of Cyprus will be seeking re-election to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the provisions of Article 17(c) (Category C) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization. The elections of Council members will be held during the 30th Regular Session of the Assembly of the Organization, which will take place in London from the 27th November to 6th December 2017. Cyprus as a small island state with a maritime tradition of for more than three and a half thousand years has played a positive and constructive role in the Organization's endeavours to achieve the objectives of maritime safety, environmental protection, maritime security and facilitation of maritime traffic. Cyprus has been and will continue to dynamically participating in the proceedings of the IMO in order to promote global solutions to the problems of the maritime industry taking into consideration the needs and interests of all IMO Member States. Attached to this letter, please find an Aide-Memoire which outlines the contribution of Cyprus to international shipping and to the work of IMO. The Minister of Transport, Communication and Works and I, will greatly appreciate your assistance in bringing the above mentioned Aide-Memoire to the attention of the responsible Ministry of your country, kindly requesting their support to the candidature of Cyprus at the forthcoming elections of members of the Council of the IMO. The Department of Merchant Shipping of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works avails itself to this opportunity to renew to the Maritime Authority of Estonia the assurances of its highest consideration. Yours Sincerely, Ioannis Efstratiou Acting Director Department of Merchant Shipping Kyllinis Street, Mesa Geitonia, 4007 Lemesos, Postal Address: P.O.Box 56193, 3305 Lemesos, Cyprus Telephone: +357 25848100, Telefax: +357 25848200 E-mail: [email protected], Web page: http://www.shipping.gov.cy