Micronesian Center for Sustainable Transport (MCST) Blog

by Alison Newell, Technical Advisor to MCST and Director Sustainable Sea Transport  This article was written a year ago before appearing in this blog. Turning the tide: what do we do about small boats and the crucial role they play in Fiji’s domestic maritime fleet?   There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the allocation of R&D funding to support the decarbonisation of large ships as part of the covid-19 economic stimulus responses around the world. Countries such as Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Germany and others have announced multi-million dollar financing packages for zero-emissions or low-carbon vessel design and trials (see for example the UK Government’s recent announcement of £400m for a Belfast-based project to develop zero emission, high-speed ferries https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4017015/belfast-zero-emission-ferry-project-gbp400m-uk-government-funding-winners ).   There has also been discussion on how Fiji could position itself as...

Peter Nuttall Micronesia Centre for Sustainable Transport This article was written a year before appearing on this blogsite. As we begin a new decade, the Sun is asking what 2020 heralds for Fiji’s shipping future? Shipping, especially our domestic sector, is facing major challenges. We are a maritime nation. Our fleet of commercial vessels - from outboard-driven village fibers, barges, landing craft, tourist vessels, to large passenger/cargo ferries - is the very lifeline connecting our more than 300 islands. Like other Pacific Islands states, we have long shipping routes, sometimes hundreds of nautical miles, to service relatively small communities. It has always been a relatively high-risk business and margins, especially for our remote and most vulnerable communities, are thin. High fuel prices, an often-aged fleet and a large scattered infrastructural footprint, have always presented major challenges to both government and private sector operators alike. There are major systemic u...