Cyprus takes seafarers, shipowners and the flag to centre stage in Athens

Cyprus put seafarers’ rights, shipping’s social role and the competitiveness of the European fleet under the same spotlight in Athens, as a three-day maritime programme moved from the people behind the industry to the regulatory pressures shaping its future. Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis used an international symposium marking the 20th anniversary of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) to argue that the protection of seafarers could no longer be treated separately from the wider changes transforming global shipping. The convention, adopted in Geneva on February 23, 2006, brought seafarers’ rights under a single international framework, setting minimum standards for working and living conditions, medical care, social protection, repatriation and other basic employment rights. Cyprus took part in the negotiations that led to its adoption and, in 2012, became the 29th country worldwide and ninth EU member state to ratify it. For Hadjimanolis, however, the anniversary was not simply an exercise in looking back. She said the MLC “cannot be treated as a static text”, describing it instead as a living international framework that must develop alongside an industry being reshaped by new technology, tougher environmental rules and changing demands on its workforce. Twenty years after its adoption, she said its purpose was “perhaps more relevant than ever”, particularly as “shipping is changing, technologies are evolving” and pressure continues to grow over safety, environmental protection, digitalisation and competitiveness. One thing, however, had not changed, she said, “At the centre of shipping is the human being.” That, Hadjimanolis said, meant protecting seafarers could not be reduced to a legal or regulatory duty, but had to be seen as “a fundamental condition for safe, sustainable, competitive and, above all, humane shipping”. Cyprus has incorporated the convention into national legislation and applies its provisions both as a flag state and port state, while maintaining mechanisms for handling complaints and working with employers and seafarer representatives through social dialogue. Hadjimanolis described the convention itself as one of the clearest examples of what cooperation between governments, employers and workers could achieve, saying that “tripartite social dialogue is not a formal obligation” for Cyprus but “a fundamental element of the philosophy of the MLC and an integral part of a modern and sustainable shipping policy”. The Athens symposium, jointly organised by Greece’s Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation and Cyprus’ Federation of Transport, Petroleum and Agricultural Workers, also carried a strong Cyprus-Greece dimension. Hadjimanolis said the two countries shared not only a centuries-old maritime tradition but also “common values and a common vision for strong, safe and competitive European shipping”. She pointed to close cooperation with Greek Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias, saying the two administrations were coordinating their positions at both European and international level, with the competitiveness of European shipping and the protection of seafarers forming part of the same discussion. The debate also fed directly into a wider question facing the sector, whether shipping can attract and retain enough people as the profession itself changes. Hadjimanolis linked the anniversary to the Lefkosia Declaration, signed by the EU’s 27 shipping ministers on April 29 during Cyprus’ presidency of the Council of the EU, which placed greater emphasis on modernising maritime education, making the profession more attractive, increasing women’s participation and ensuring a fair transition into the green and digital age. “Without seafarers there is no shipping,” she said, adding that “without decent and safe working conditions, we cannot safeguard the future of the maritime profession”. The symposium formed part of Hadjimanolis’ wider September 17-19 programme in Athens, which had begun with a three-day drive to promote the Cyprus flag and strengthen ties with Greek shipping. A day earlier, the focus had been on another side of the industry’s human dimension, when the Shipping Deputy Ministry brought together senior figures from the Greek and Cypriot maritime communities for its “Women, Shipping, Social Contribution” event. The gathering, attended by First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, Cyprus Union of Shipowners (CUS) president Polys V. Hajioannou and women from across the maritime community, looked at shipping’s long tradition of charitable and social work and the role women have played within it. As reported earlier, Hadjimanolis sought to broaden the definition of women’s contribution beyond those formally employed in shipping. “The woman in shipping is not only the woman who works in the sector,” she said, but also “the professional, the scientist, the woman of the sea”, as well as those contributing through families, foundations and personal initiatives. The event also pushed back against viewing shipping simply through fleets, companies and its economic weight. For Cyprus, Hadjimanolis said, “shipping is above all its people”, pointing to the work carried out over decades by shipping families, shipowners, businesses and foundations in healthcare, education, social welfare, culture and support for younger generations. Hajioannou, meanwhile, linked that tradition of giving to life at sea itself, saying that “mutual assistance is a rule of life at sea” and that the same way of thinking had carried into the social work of the wider shipping community. By Friday evening, however, the tone had shifted from social contribution and labour rights to the harder commercial and regulatory questions facing the industry. Speaking at the CUS annual dinner, President Nikos Christodoulides said shipping was having to contend with geopolitical instability, decarbonisation, digitalisation, technological change, shortages of skilled personnel and declining interest among younger people in careers at sea. He said the sector had to continue playing its part in international efforts to cut emissions, but warned that it should not be “targeted” or asked to shoulder a disproportionate burden. Shipping, he noted, carries more than 80 per cent of world trade while being responsible for around 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, placing the debate over new environmental rules firmly within a wider question over competitiveness and costs. Christodoulides said any new global measures should be “proportionate, measurable, realistic, practical and applicable”, while taking account of the particular characteristics of maritime transport and safeguarding the long-term viability and competitiveness of the industry. He also said new rules should consider the eventual cost to consumers and, crucially, be applied globally without creating layers of overlapping international, regional and national requirements. The position comes as Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Italy have been drawing closer over the next phase of international shipping regulation, with concerns over fuel costs, emissions pricing and the competitiveness of European shipping becoming increasingly prominent ahead of further IMO negotiations, as reported earlier this month. Christodoulides also used the dinner to emphasise the recent expansion of the Cyprus flag, saying the registry had grown by more than 27 per cent over the past three years, while the total tonnage of the Cyprus fleet had reached its highest level in 25 years. At the same time, he said the government was pressing ahead with the digitalisation of Shipping Deputy Ministry services and reviewing existing procedures and legislation so that they could keep pace with technological change and the evolving needs of the industry. The President also returned to one of the themes running throughout Hadjimanolis’ Athens visit, the increasingly close maritime relationship between Cyprus and Greece. He said coordination between the two countries extended “at all levels”, from political leadership to the daily cooperation of the competent services and technical officials, with both sides working to respond jointly to the challenges facing the sector. Across the three Athens events, the emphasis changed, but the connection between them remained clear. The women and social contribution event looked beyond shipping’s commercial footprint to the communities around it. The MLC symposium moved directly to the rights, welfare and future of those working at sea. The shipowners’ dinner then widened the discussion to decarbonisation, regulation, skills and the ability of European shipping to compete internationally.