P&O is reflagging two of its UK-flagged ro-pax ferries to Cyprus ahead of Britain’s proposed departure from the European Union (EU), or ‘Brexit’.
The UK ferry operator said the two ships involved currently operated on the English Channel route to France, reported Reuters.
“The change is being made to preserve the tonnage tax financing arrangements, under which the ships should remain flagged in an EU member state,” a statement said.
The spokesman added that P&O was reviewing the flag status of its four other ships operating on the Channel route, although no final decision had been taken.
The move will come as a blow to the UK-registered fleet which stood at 1,306 vessels of over 500-gt as of November 2018.
With just over 100 days until Britain is due to leave the EU, British Prime Minister Theresa May is yet to win the support of a deeply divided parliament for the deal she struck last month with Brussels to maintain close ties with the bloc.
