Cyprus and the United Kingdom have agreed on the next steps for putting their maritime cooperation agreement into practice, following talks between Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis and her British counterpart Keir Mather in London this week, according to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Hadjimanolis said the two sides agreed how to proceed with implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between their maritime administrations, while exchanging views on the challenges facing global shipping and ways to deepen bilateral cooperation.

The agreement was signed in February 2023 between the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry and the UK Department for Transport. Its scope covers maritime safety and security, decarbonisation, ship-source pollution, seafarers’ employment and welfare, maritime education and training, research and innovation, digitalisation and cyber security.

It also provides for cooperation over piracy, fraudulent ship registrations, shipping-related sanctions and within international bodies including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Under the agreement, cooperation can take the form of exchanges of experts, technical workshops, training programmes, technical assistance, exchanges of best practice and greater private-sector involvement.

The two countries had already identified seafarers’ welfare and safety and the green transition as priorities for implementing the shipping agreement. A UK government review published in December 2024 also referred to plans to exchange expertise on implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

Mather has served at the Department for Transport since September 2025 and is currently Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation, Maritime and Logistics, with responsibility for maritime policy, freight and borders, international transport and security and resilience.

Hadjimanolis and Mather also took part in the 18th Annual Capital Link Shipping & Marine Services Forum alongside TEN founder and chief executive Nikolas Tsakos. According to the official agenda, their roundtable examined trade, regulation and maritime competitiveness, including tariffs, sanctions, supply-chain resilience and the role of regulators.

During her London visit, Hadjimanolis also met Foresight Group founder and chairman Ravi K. Mehrotra, with the Shipping Deputy Ministry saying discussions centred on opportunities for collaboration and stronger cooperation in maritime and shipping activities.

Foresight was founded by Mehrotra in 1984 as a shipping company before expanding into offshore drilling and infrastructure. Its shipping business is now focused heavily on LPG transportation, with the company targeting a fleet of 25 modern VLGCs by 2034.