In what can be considered a very surprising move during the height of Brexit, a well-known British shipping company has registered an entire fleet of ships to Cyprus. P & O Ferries has registered its English Channel operating fleet in Cyprus after having two of its ships re-flagged.
Said ships, which were set to be named “Pride of Britain” and the “Pride of France” – operate between Dover, England and Calais, France.Other ships from the fleet which have been registered in Cyprus include the “European Seaway,” “Pride of Burgundy,” “Pride of Kent”, and “Pride of Canterbury”.
According to a statement made by a spokesman of the shipping company, the decision, which has been made in advance of the official Brexit in March 2019, has been made after thorough review of the flag status of all ships on the English Channel. After much consideration, the decision to re-flag all ships under Cyprus has been made.
He added the reason for choosing Cyprus over any other country – the island nation stands as a member of the “white list” of both the Paris and Tokyo “Memoranda of Understanding”, and will allow for more seamless maritime activity due to lesser ship inspections and other operational delays. The move will also allow the fleet to have a more benefiting tax system, since the ships will be flagged under a country that is a member of the European Union.
