Ireland hopes to attract shipping companies and trade houses to base their European operations in the country, aiming to diversify its recession-hit economy, a senior Irish government agency official said on Friday. Ireland has been more successful than other of the euro zone's most troubled economies in convincing financial markets it is on the road to repairing public finances with substantial cuts in spending.

The Irish government has tried to use the country's low corporation tax rate of 12.5 percent, EU membership and its English-speaking population as draws to attract more foreign investment into the former "Celtic Tiger's" open economy.

Success stories include Britain's third largest drugmaker Shire , which has moved its tax residency to Ireland.

Glenn Murphy, director of the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO), said attracting shipping companies was part of that drive, especially groups' chartering, financing and logistics operations.

"The overall package in terms of Ireland as a credible maritime location is very strong," he told Reuters in an interview. "It's the international financial services end of the shipping business that we are targeting."

The global economic downturn hit the shipping sector hard in 2009, but Murphy said the seaborne industry was restructuring.

"Companies are now are starting to strategically lift their heads and look at other opportunities in terms of cost and locations," he said.

U.S. ocean transportation company TBS International and marine services group GAC Logistics have both said they aimed to establish operations in Ireland this year, Murphy said.

He added that another U.S shipping group was looking to set up operations in the southern Irish port city of Cork.

Murphy said the IMDO was also confident that at least one of two international shipping groups that had sent delegations would decide to locate their operations in Ireland in 2010.

He said separately two trade houses were also involved in discussions with the IMDO.

"This is again industries that could set up and establish quite quickly in Ireland," Murphy said.

Dubai and Singapore have also aimed to aggressively target shipping companies.

"We would like to think within Europe we have a package that is as good and as committed as anywhere else," Murphy said.

The bursting of Ireland's decade-long property bubble in 2007 plunged Ireland into its worst recession on record.

Murphy said Ireland was "working through" its problems.

"We see the current downturn as an opportunity for Ireland to restructure its cost base and to again make ourselves competitive," he said. (Reuters)