Maritime Services Park coming to Cayman
(CNS Business): In efforts to attract global maritime services business to set up a physical presence in Cayman, the government has agreed to partner with Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) to introduce a Maritime Services Park. Officials said this initiative represents an opportunity to leverage the quality of the islands’ flag and jurisdiction, which would significantly enhance the maritime services already offered and bring new businesses and jobs to the country.
Through concessions granted by government, Cayman Enterprise City’s Maritime Services Park will attract ship owners, brokers and financiers as well as yacht management companies, shipping management companies and also technology companies that focus on the maritime services industry.
CEO of CEC, Charlie Kirkconnell, told CNS Business that, considering Cayman’s rich seafaring heritage, the Maritime Services Park will create a true maritime cluster in the islands, which will ultimately diversify and have a positive impact on the economy.
Charlie Kirkconnell, CEO Cayman Enterprise City
“In the case of the Cayman Maritime Services Park, we feel that it dovetails really nicely with the islands’ history as a maritime services jurisdiction,” he explained.
Kirkconnell said Cayman already has a renowned shipping registry due to its proximity to major shipping lanes, such as North America, South America and the Panama Canal, that offers a practical base for maritime services companies. The CEO explained it’s about taking advantage of the islands’ positioning.
“These companies are not setting up a shell company or an entity with a registered office. They are physically setting up an office here and bringing people here, so there should be significant amount of jobs created as part of this project,” he said.
This announcement comes shortly after government and CEC renegotiated its legal agreement “to give government reasonable flexibility in allowing other businesses, especially Caymanian businesses, to have access to market segments that were locked down by the original CEC agreement,” Premier Alden McLaughlin explained in his budget address last week.
Government leaders felt the previous agreement negotiated by the UDP administration was “too restrictive” and prevented many Caymanian businesses from being able to develop in the market sectors and set up their own technology based company.
In return for agreeing to less restrictive terms, officials explained, government agreed to allow this partnership with CEC to introduce the Maritime Services Park.
Kirkconnell said government leaders wanted clarification to the rules for local businesses and together both parties were able to come to an agreement and establish this partnership to move forward. The CEO explained the announcement of a Maritime Services Park has generated discussion between a number of clients and CEC has seen interest from a variety of businesses who want to take part in this initiative.
The special economic zone under CEC will allow the zone companies to benefit from Cayman’s tax-neutral environment as well as offer lower registration fees and no work permit fees.
“We intend to work very closely with MACI, the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands, and with the shipping registry to promote this around the globe and promote the jurisdiction as not only a place where you can register your ships, but also as a place where you can set up a physical presence for the company that owns those ships.”
McLaughlin also stated the Cayman Islands is “an ideal hub” for the shipping and maritime industry.
“The introduction of a maritime park in Cayman will allow the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands to initiate the first Maritime Week event in 2016, which we believe will quickly become the pre-eminent annual maritime affair in the region,” he stated.
Category: Featured, Local Business, Shipping, Video
