Cyprus is 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's third- party ship management market.

Since 2009, the Central Bank has carried out semi-annual market surveys of Cyprus residents who provide ship management services to ship-owning companies registered in Cyprus and abroad. The surveys collect data on 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 April 27 2018. Its main findings are as follows:

  • Ship management revenues increased to €476 million during the second half of 2017. This was an increase of €4 million compared with the previous assessment period, but was slightly lower than general gross domestic product growth during the same period.
  • The main export destination for ship management industry services was Germany, which accounted for 37%. This was followed by Russia (8%) and Singapore, Malta and Switzerland (6% each).
  • The sector's payments abroad – which comprised mainly crew wages, crew training expenses, engineering expenses and general administrative expenses – fell by 3% compared with the first half of 2017.

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