In October 2022 a new legislation was adopted by the Parliament of Cyprus, the Law on the Shipping Limited Liability Company” of 2022 (the “SLLC Law”) which provides a new form of limited liability company the Limited Liability Shipping Company (LLSC) with the sole purpose of owning and operating ships/vessels under the Cyprus flag.
The main goal of the SLLC law is to create a one-stop-shop framework for shipping companies and their shareholders within the Deputy Ministry of Shipping to improve the competitiveness of the Cyprus flag in international shipping, and further facilitate all matters which currently fall within the competence of the Registrar of Companies to simplify the procedures of registration and operation to own Cyprus-flagged ships/vessels.
Under the SLLC law the procedures for setting up and registering a LLSC are regulated and cored by the main provisions provided by the Companies Law, Cap. 113 and the Cyprus Registrar of Companies. The competent authority of LLSCSs will be the Registrar of LLSCs adopting and aligning with the practises of the Cyprus Registrar of Companies.
One main difference of the new law with the Companies Law is the requirement that the LLCS’s appointed secretary must be a qualified lawyer in order to comply efficiently with the recently enacted piece of law.
For detailed information as to the registration of SLLCs and the relevant provisions that have been adopted, feel free to contact our corporate department.
