PACIFIC Island countries have formalised a regional shipping pact, which is expected to deliver clean energy transition for the maritime industry across Oceania region.
The Maritime Executive reports the Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership (PBSP) was signed last week by seven Pacific transport ministers at a meeting in Majuro, Marshall Islands.
The report said countries represented during the signing include Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Palau and Tonga are also expected to sign the partnership.
For more than a decade, the Pacific Island countries have been part of the 6PAC+ Alliance, mounting a high-ambition campaign at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to phase out fossil
fuel use in global shipping.
While IMO member states continue to build consensus on global shipping emissions, the island nations said the PBSP would help coordinate equitable transition in its region.
The ministers added that the PBSP was Pacific countries’ response to overhauling their domestic shipping, often described as a sector in crisis, trapped in a cycle of aged, poorly maintained ships servicing some of the longest, thinnest and highest cost domestic routes in the world.
PBSP seeks to re-orient climate funding for Pacific Island countries, with an aim to deliver a fleet of low-carbon vessels, climate resilient port infrastructure and skilled workers to ensure long term maritime connectivity for the Island communities.
The PBSP Charter also established the organisational framework for the shipping partnership.
The institution will oversee among other things funding mechanisms, governance and Marshall Islands capital Majuro was designated as the headquarters of the PBSP.
The Marshallese transport minister was elected as the partnership’s inaugural Chair.
