Shipping offers young people careers at sea and ashore, Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said at Limassol’s fifth Thalassa festival, which turned the Molos seafront into a showcase for the maritime sector.
The event ran from 9am to 7pm on Saturday, October 10. President Nikos Christodoulides opened the festival, where visitors could explore interactive displays and take free catamaran trips.
Hadjimanolis said Thalassa began with a simple idea: “to bring the sea closer to people, to get to know it, experience it and love it even more and, above all, to pass on this relationship with the sea to the next generations.”
For Cyprus, she said, the sea was part of the country’s “identity, history, economy and future”.
The festival aimed to bring the public closer to the people and work behind shipping, with a particular focus on young people.
More than 30 public and private organisations, including government services, shipping companies, industry groups and academic institutions, took part.
Their displays covered shipping and ports, education, research, technology, environmental protection and social contribution.
Christodoulides said the Cabinet would approve a Coast Guard Unit before the end of the year, with the unit expected to begin operating in 2027.
The Cyprus shipping register had grown by about 27 per cent over the past three years, he said, while state revenues from ship management had risen by around 19 to 20 per cent.
Shipping extended well beyond vessels and crews, Christodoulides said, with jobs for engineers, scientists, lawyers and economists, as well as people working in ports, shipping companies, universities and research centres.
He described the sector as a source of “well-paid jobs, particularly for young people”.
Limassol mayor Yiannis Armeftis said shipping, the port, maritime transport and related businesses were “important pillars of economic activity” in the city and the country.
The Blue Economy, research, technology and marine protection were opening new prospects, he added.
The opening ceremony featured vessels from the National Guard’s Naval Command, the Port and Marine Police, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Cyprus Ports Authority, P&O Maritime and VTS Vasiliko Terminal Services.
The festival ended with a free concert by Haris Varthakouris at Limassol’s Old Port.
Hadjimanolis told Christodoulides that his presence “beside the sea and among its people” was a particular honour, and thanked him for supporting efforts to strengthen Cyprus as a modern, competitive shipping centre.
She also thanked the organisers and those working at sea and ashore to keep maritime activity safe, run the ports and protect the marine environment.