[Photo: SUPPLIED]
Fiji has joined a new Pacific partnership aimed at improving shipping services across the region.
The country is among several Pacific countries that have signed the inaugural Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership (PBSP) Charter.
The initiative seeks to address growing concerns over ageing vessels, high operating costs and unreliable domestic shipping services.
After the signing, ministers and officials toured the Juren Ae, the first sailing cargo ship operating in the Pacific.
The vessel was built for the Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation and is used for inter-atoll transport.
The partnership brings together Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Palau and Tonga.
For more than a decade, Pacific countries under the 6PAC+ coalition have pushed for stronger action on shipping emissions through the International Maritime Organization.
The PBSP expands that effort by focusing on domestic maritime transport.
It aims to secure climate funding for new vessels, better maritime infrastructure and workforce development.
The goal is to strengthen transport links and improve resilience for island communities across Oceania.
