The Solomon Islands make history: first Ocean Accounts for maritime transport in the Pacific

In February 2026, the Solomon Islands Maritime Authority (SIMA) hosted several workshops on Ocean Accounting for Maritime Transport Workshop in Honiara, including an internal technical workshop with SIMA staff, an external stakeholder workshop with government, industry, and development partners, and a planning session on strategic collaboration on this space.

As a Large Ocean State with a territory that is 98% ocean, spread across 900+ islands, the Solomon Islands depend on maritime connectivity. Developing Ocean Accounts for maritime transport transforms fragmented maritime data into auditable, decision-ready evidence for fleet modernisation, climate finance, workforce development, and integrated national planning.

The first internationally standardised Ocean Accounts for a Pacific maritime sector were developed over a 16-week pilot (October 2025–January 2026) led by the Solomon Islands Maritime Authority (SIMA)  and the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) Secretariat at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), with support from The Pacific Community (SPC).

The pilot culminated in a three-day workshop (11–13 February 2026) with more than 50 participants across all sessions. The workshop brought together government ministries, SIMA, shipping operators, regional partners, and development partners.  Activities included:

• Internal technical workshop: SIMA staff received hands-on capacity building in account maintenance, spatial dashboard operation, and data quality assurance — ensuring SIMA can independently update and use the accounts going forward
• Data architecture mapping: SIMA staff mapped current and ideal data flows across departments, identifying pathways to centralise and strengthen maritime data governance
• External stakeholder workshop: over 30 participants from government ministries, ports authority, shipping operators, maritime training, and development partners reviewed pilot findings and endorsed next steps
• Phase 2 planning: SPC, SIMA, and GOAP discussed pathways to expand ocean accounting to additional maritime and ocean sectors under the Solomon Islands Ocean Policy

The pilot produced two core accounts:

1. National shipping asset account: valued the domestic commercial fleet at USD $25.8M, with a full replacement cost of USD $75M across 183 vessels.
2. Maritime labour account: quantified 1,365 seafarers and approximately USD $24M in annual compensation.

Key outcomes from maritime stakeholders include:

✅ Endorsement of Ocean Accounting as a scalable method to measure economic, social, and environmental value of the ocean sector

✅ Request total upscale the pilot into a comprehensive project supporting large-scale development and investment in the Solomon Islands maritime sector

✅ Encouragment for other sectors to adopt ocean accounting for ocean governance and evidence-based policy and investment decisions

✅ Call for key stakeholders to collaborate and expand ocean accounting under the Solomon Islands Ocean Policy (including SIMA, Ocean12, UNSW/GOAP, SPC, government agencies, provinces, industry, and development partners)

“For the first time, we are transforming raw maritime data into internationally recognised and standardised accounts that clearly quantify the value of our domestic fleet and workforce. Ocean Accounts give us credible, auditable evidence - not assumptions - to guide investment, strengthen policy, and position Solomon Islands as a leader in evidence-based maritime governance for Pacific Island Nations.”

• Mr Allen Ofea, Manager of the Executive Office, SIMA, reflecting on the significance of the milestone.

This achievement would not have been possible without the dedicated pilot research team at SIMA, SIMA’s technical departments, and the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) Secretariat.

The Solomon Islands is now positioned as a regional pioneer, with a methodology that is replicable across Pacific Island nations and territories.