The ship register of Portugal (or Madeira), the No. 2 under the flags of German shipowners, will continue to be represented by the agency Euromar, which is also based in Hamburg.
The regional government of Madeira has officially extended the concession for a further five years – to Sociedade de Desenvolvimento da Madeira. Euromar acts on behalf of and under a contract with the concessionaire SDM. “This confirms our commitment to the further development of the shipping register and the long-standing relationship based on a solid foundation of trust,” said Albrecht Gundermann, Managing Partner of Euromar, expressing his satisfaction.
SDM manages and promotes the Madeira International Business Center, including the International Ship Registry, on behalf of the Regional Government of Madeira. This has recently undergone a very positive development. The register is considered one of the fastest growing European flags. Since the end of last year, it has a total of more than 1,000 ships. On the occasion of the concession extension, SDM emphasized the central role of Euromar and the existing partnership “in this success story”.
The flag is also popular among German shipowners. According to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), 393 German ships with a combined gross tonnage of 8.08 million sail under the Portuguese flag. In terms of both the number of ships and measurements, this puts Portugal in second place – behind Antigua & Barbuda with 422 ships and Liberia with 17.8 million GT.
The CEO of SDM, Rogério Gouveia, has now clarified: “No other company from another jurisdiction has the same role or the same mandate as Euromar in cooperation with SDM in Madeira.” Together they want to further strengthen “Portugal’s role as a leading European seafaring nation”.
The “Paris Memorandum of Understanding” (Paris MoU), one of the key agreements for port state control, currently ranks the Portuguese flag 17th on its “White List” (previous year: 22nd). On the occasion of the concession extension, Euromar and SDM reaffirmed their focus on sustainable fleet growth “through quality rather than quantity”. Shipowners wishing to register modern, efficient and, last but not least, compliant tonnage under the Portuguese flag are always welcome, provided that all technical and regulatory requirements are met. According to Gundermann, the declared aim is to achieve a fleet of 2,000 ships with Madeira as their home port by 2034.
Jörg Molzahn, also Managing Partner, explained: “True progress in the maritime sector is based on European integrity, not imitation. The success of the Madeira Registry is based on transparency, trust and compliance and the simple adoption of European values. It is important to understand how Europe works.” It is encouraging to see that even companies that have traditionally focused on offshore registers outside the EU are now considering turning to European flags. “This confirms an ongoing trend: the industry is moving from offshore to onshore, from opacity to transparency. This commitment by shipowners shows that it is possible to move from rather unregulated operations with low standards to higher and transparent European standards and good regulation,” Molzahn continued.
