Portugal’s international ship registry is making a concerted effort to expand its footprint in the world’s biggest shipping market — Greece.
As the world digests the lessons learned in the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Shipping Register of Madeira expects to find fertile ground in Piraeus for its newly created, fully digital services.
“Portugal is now one of the first countries worldwide, if not the first, to have simultaneously implemented digital certification for vessels and for seafarers,” said Ricardo Serrao Santos, the country’s minister for maritime affairs, on a visit to the flag’s recently established office in Piraeus.
“We are very proud of the solution built and now available to all Portuguese-flagged vessels.”
In January, its exclusive agents, Euromar, appointed Carla Olival to serve as executive manager for Greece and the Middle East, alongside long-standing Greek representative Angelos Roupas-Pantaleon.
The digital certification system was put in place just a few months before Covid-19 hit.
“Without knowing it, we were already prepared to face the Covid pandemic,” Santos said.
Certification is another shipping field in which coronavirus is boosting digitalisation. Documents for ships, or seafarers who need to change in an emergency, reach port authorities within seconds instead of having to be flown in.
“It’s very painful for DHL or UPS,” one Portuguese flag official said.
Legal cover
Setting up the new system was not just a matter of software and cyber security arrangements. Portugal also had to pass a law that provides legal cover for the electronic submission of certification documents.
The central government in Lisbon actively backed the legislation, as part of a nationwide campaign for the country’s digital transition.
Portugal’s digital focus overlaps with another priority to promote environmentally sustainable maritime projects as part of what European Union policymakers describe as the Blue Economy.
Santos said digitalisation of the maritime administration is followed up by similar initiatives in the logistics chain, ports, aquaculture, fisheries and recreational activities.
Another key move to promote the flag was legislation passed last year that brings Portuguese rules on shipping mortgages in line with those in competing jurisdictions.
Portugal expects these changes, and a revamped 24/7 service desk, to help it snatch clients from established non-European flags.
Part of its pitch to European shipping players is that the EU is getting increasingly pushy about promoting the bloc’s flags.
To allow member states such as Greece, Portugal, Cyprus or the Netherlands to offer special tonnage tax regimes to shipping companies, EU authorities want beneficiaries to increase the share of their tonnage operated under flags of the European Economic Area towards 60%. The zone consists of the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Considerations such as these have already helped make the Portugal flag an attractive solution. German owners were the first to seize the opportunity.
However, as Portugal's flag outgrows the 700-ship mark, the share of non-German clients is increasing, from countries such as the Netherlands, France, Norway and Greece.
“The clear target and priority is Greece,” Santos said.
