St Kitts And Nevis Shipping Registry Draws Interest In Gulf

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

25 January 2007

The St Kitts and Nevis Shipping Registry's recent showing at a major maritime exhibition in the Middle East attracted significant interest for participants at the event, it has been reported.

Exhibiting at the Seatrade Middle East Maritime (SMEM) exhibition for the first time in Dubai last month, the St Kitts delegation saw a high level of interest in both the jurisdiction's shipping registry and financial services sector, according to Nigel Smith, International Registrar of Shipping and Seamen.

“Our exhibition space was located close to some 'competitor countries' and it was plain to see that the greater number of visitors came to our stand," Smith was quoted as revealing by the St Kitts & Nevis Sun.

"This was helped by having a maritime registrar locally who was able to arrange beforehand for interested parties to meet us, so generating extra publicity and leads to maximise the participation in the exhibition,” he added.

As a result of its presence at the exhibition, St Kitts & Nevis managed to secure a new ship registration from a company that was previously not a client.

On the back of the successful outcome of the Seatrade event, the St Kitts & Nevis registry has decided to participate in the Sea Asia exhibition in Singapore, which will be held from April 2 to 4 at the Suntec City Exhibition Centre.

The 2006 SMEM exhibition was the largest in the event's history, attracting close to 6,000 trade participants from 63 countries, 45% of whom came from outside the Middle East. Countries making their debut at the 2006 event included registries from the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, the Isle of Man, and Tuvalu.

After the record showing in 2006, the event's organisers have said that the next exhibition, to be held in December 2008, is set for further expansion, reflecting the strong growth forecast for the size of the fleet managed or controlled in the region.

“We will monitor the expansion of the fleet, in each of the principal industry segments, when planning the 2008 programme. This will capitalise on the momentum built up in the general shipping, cruise and SuperYacht conference sessions this year,” explained Christopher Hayman, Managing Director of Seatrade.

“SMEM has evolved into one of the world’s fastest-growing maritime events and now ranks among the industry’s top 10 largest. SMEM is the leading international forum in the region and, as the Middle East’s maritime industry develops, the event is set to evolve in tandem,” he added.

Recommended