| United Nations | E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.4 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
29 February 1996
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Fourth session
18 April-3 May 1996
PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES
Report of the Secretary-General
Addendum
Maritime transport in small island developing States
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ............... 1 - 2 3
II. THE ROLE OF SHIPPING IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES ........................ 3 - 9 3
III. OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT SITUATION IN SHIPPING ......... 10 - 19 7
A. International trade of small island developing
States ............................................ 11 - 13 7
B. Small island developing States merchant fleet ..... 14 - 17 7
C. Shipping industry changes ......................... 18 - 19 11
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 20 - 23 11
A. National level .................................... 21 12
B. Regional or subregional level ..................... 22 13
C. International level ............................... 23 15
V. CONCLUSIONS ........................................... 24 15
Annex. AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES FLEET, BY
TYPE OF VESSEL, AS AT 1 JULY 1995 .............................. 17
I. METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT
1. The task managers of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO),
acting within available resources, contacted a wide range of international,
national and regional organizations to request their assistance in updating
information. The survey was initiated in September 1995 and covered 25
organizations. The terms of reference included:
(a) Identification of the challenges facing identified small island
developing States in the field of transport, communications and quarantine;
(b) Identification of what must be done to give effect to chapter XII
of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States;
(c) Identification of what is currently being done nationally,
regionally and globally to meet those challenges;
(d) Formulation of recommendations on ways and means to overcome the
discrepancies between (b) and (c) and to initiate remedial action;
(e) Monitoring the implementation of the recommendations;
(f) Reporting on the work, as required, to the Committee on
Sustainable Development.
2. To date, very few responses have been received from the organizations
of the United Nations system and other international organizations.
Therefore, the information contained in the present report is based on
experience and research from UNCTAD's own internal sources. If additional
information is received, an addendum will be issued. The structure of the
present report includes an overview of international trade of small island
developing States, an analysis of the merchant fleet and recommendations
for maritime policy.
II. THE ROLE OF SHIPPING IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES
3. Economic development, trade and maritime transport are inextricably
linked. This is particularly evident with developing countries because
exports are a growing share of gross domestic product (GDP). For example,
exports of goods and services as a share of GDP increased from 17 per cent
in 1960 to 30 per cent in 1993. Accompanying this expansion of exports was
a corresponding annual average growth in real GDP. During the period
1970-1993, developing countries as a group had an average annual growth
rate of 3.7 per cent, and for the low- income group the annual average
growth in real GDP was 5.2 per cent. 1/ In brief, exports are an important
factor in sustainable development.
4. To participate in and expand trade, efficient maritime transport and
port infrastructure are essential. This is particularly important for
those small island developing States that are at geographic and economic
disadvantage. These handicaps are manifested by high distribution costs,
lack of reliable shipping services, expensive transshipment charges,
inadequate port facilities, limited maritime administration and
diseconomies of scale when negotiating freight rates with shipping
conferences. For example, estimates of total freight costs for small
island developing States are more than 45.5 per cent higher than for
developed market-economy countries. Table 1 provides a comparison for
small island developing States with other country groups and indicates the
large disparity between small island developing States. Moreover, most
small remote islands incur even higher freight costs as a percentage of
import value, ranging from 12 to 18 per cent, which is almost double that
of other developing countries as a group.
5. The role of UNCTAD to improve the maritime sector in developing
countries focuses on two broad areas. The first area is policy formulation
at an international level to promote equitable participation by all country
groups in the global shipping industry. The scope of issues includes
international shipping legislation, protection of shippers' interests,
merchant fleet development, multimodal transport and port development.
Tangible results in this policy area have led to a number of international
agreements.
6. The maintenance of the marine environment is of particular importance
to small island developing States. Marine pollution originating from cargo
vessels and, even more important, from passenger and cruise vessels, needs
to be controlled and necessary action taken to prevent further degradation
of the marine environment. It is particularly urgent that necessary
measures be taken to facilitate the establishment of port reception
facilities for the collection of oil and chemical residues and garbage from
ships as defined by the annexes to the International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, and its Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL
73/78).
7. In order to ensure the implementation of the provisions of MARPOL,
cooperation has been initiated between UNCTAD and IMO aimed at designing a
financial instrument that would ensure the funding of investments and
operations of waste reception facilities in ports. The basis for this
cooperation was laid at the meeting of the IMO Council in June 1994 and
subsequently taken note of by the UNCTAD Standing Committee on Developing
Services Sectors: Shipping, in July 1994.
8. In implementing this agreement, the secretariats of UNCTAD and IMO
jointly prepared a document entitled "Reception facilities" (SPI 3/4) which
was submitted to the Ship/Port Interface Working Group at its third
meeting, held at IMO headquarters from 24 to 28 October 1994. The document
recalls the requirements for reception facilities in ports as established
under MARPOL and clearly establishes the need to go beyond the physical
provision of such facilities by creating an instrument that would give an
incentive to ships to actually use existing facilities and to allocate
costs of investing in and operating reception facilities in a way that
would reflect the "polluter pays" principle.
Table 1
Estimates of total freight costs of total import value, 1993 a/
(Millions of United States dollars)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country Estimate of total Value of imports Freight costs
freight costs of (cif) as percentage
imports of import value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bahamas 207.5 3 500 5.93
Cyprus 236.2 2 590 9.12
Comoros 7.2 56 12.84
Mauritius 217.8 1 715 12.70
Sao Tome 3.9 22 17.76
Seychelles 24.3 189 12.84
Antigua and Barbuda 21.9 245 8.95
Barbados 51.4 574 8.95
Dominica 10.3 115 8.95
Dominican Republic 312.9 2 436 12.84
Grenada 12.4 120 10.31
Haiti 52.7 410 12.84
Jamaica 252.0 2 097 12.02
St Kitts and Nevis 8.9 100 8.95
St Lucia 28.6 320 8.95
St Vincent and the
Grenadines 8.24 92 8.95
Trinidad and Tobago 142.5 1 448 9.84
Bahrain 376.4 3 825 9.84
Maldives 16.6 185 8.95
Singapore 4 751.9 85 234 5.58
Malta 213.8 2 173 9.84
Fiji 74.8 634 11.79
Kiribati 1.5 15 9.76
Papua New Guinea 166.8 1 299 12.84
Solomon Islands 16.6 101 16.42
Tonga 4.96 61 8.14
Vanuatu 9.7 80 12.10
Western Samoa 9.3 105 8.87
Subtotal SIDS 7 241.1 109 741 6.60
World total 201 385 3 601 481 5.59
Developed market-
economy countries 118 043 2 600 770 4.54
Developing countries
- total 83 342 1 000 711 8.33
of which in:
Africa 9 837 88 979 11.06
America 15 098 189 0947.98
Asia 56 951 707 4308.05
Europe 934 10 9408.54
Oceania 522 4 26812.23
9. The second area is technical cooperation and human resources
development. These are important complements to the research, policy
analysis and intergovernmental deliberations of UNCTAD. Research provides
new insights into methods of tackling development problems; through
training programmes the results of this research can be disseminated to
policy makers and other officials in developing countries; technical
cooperation provides the means for follow-up assistance to be made
available to developing countries, at their request. At the same time, the
information and ideas that technical cooperation experts communicate from
the field enable members of the secretariat to better understand the needs
of developing countries and how the work of the secretariat can be oriented
to help meet such needs; thus, technical cooperation becomes an important
source of ideas for research. The UNCTAD technical cooperation programme
was, in the past, oriented to developing countries because of their special
needs. This programme continues to be extended to small island developing
States.
III. OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT SITUATION IN SHIPPING
10. The present section includes an analysis of international trade of
small island developing States and the characteristics of the merchant
fleet. The maritime transportation issues, however, are not uniform for
all small island developing States. The group is significantly diverse in
geographic location, natural endowments and stages of economic development.
Therefore, the problems of a country such as Singapore, with its excellent
geographic location, the second largest container throughput in the
world 2/ and a per capita GDP of almost $20,000, 3/ are very different from
those of many other small island developing States. For example, per
capita income for developing countries in Oceania ranges from a low of $447
(Kiribati) to a high of $2,222 (Fiji). 4/
A. International trade of small island developing States
11. The demand for shipping services is derived from international trade.
The dominance of manufactures (80 per cent) is highly biased by the more
developed small island developing States and for many less developed
countries raw materials are a large share.
12. A review of international trade of small island developing States by
value indicates a shift in both structure and direction of imports and
exports. For the former, total exports have increased at about
11.5 per cent annually for the period 1988-1994, with the fastest growth in
manufactures (annual average growth rate of 17.2 per cent). 5/ The
changing structure of trade reflects the growth in manufactures and a
decrease in food exports. The direction of exports has changed over the
period 1988-1994. For example, in 1988, developed market-economy countries
imported about 56 per cent of small island developing States' exports.
However, by 1994, the developed countries' share declined to 44.5 per cent.
Conversely, the developing countries' share of small island developing
States' exports increased from 39.9 per cent in 1988 to 51.8 per cent in
1994. 6/
13. Total imports have increased at an annual average rate of 8.9 per cent
over the period 1988-1994. 7/ Manufactured goods remain the largest share
of imports - 81 per cent in 1994 - and increased from 69.0 per cent in
1988. In other commodity groups, imports of food and fuels remained
static; however, agricultural raw materials decreased by 34.3 per cent,
while ores and metals increased by 30.0 per cent. The direction of imports
over the period 1988-1994 shifted away from developed market-economy
countries (down 8.3 per cent), with an increase for developing countries
(up 15 per cent). Developed market-economy countries, however, are still
the major countries of origin, with more than 55 per cent of the 1994
total. The developing countries and socialist Asia expanded their share to
41.0 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.
B. Small island developing States merchant fleet
14. The impact of open-registry fleets creates a statistical bias on the
analysis of the fleet capabilities of the small island developing States
group. Open registries are legal mechanisms used to attract merchant
tonnage from countries with more stringent safety regulations and higher
operating costs to countries offering more flexibility and lower
registration fees. The benefits for the open-registry countries are
additional tax revenues and employment opportunities when ship management
companies are established within the country. The main benefits, however,
remain with the nationals of the true owners because the share of tonnage
owned by open-registry nationals is minimal (see table 2).
15. Within the small island developing States group, open-registry tonnage
represents 77.2 per cent of the total. Thus, a more accurate analysis of
the small island developing States fleet should focus on the remaining
30.6 million d.w.t. The composition of this fleet is summarized in table 3
and indicates a concentration of registered tonnage in Singapore, Antigua
and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The latter Caribbean
States also extend open-registry facilities. These three represent
95 per cent of the total small island developing States fleet, excluding
the main open-registry countries. This high percentage is partly explained
by the recording system, 8/ which includes vessels of 100 GRT and above.
Thus many of the smaller ships are not included in the global data bank
maintained by Lloyd's Maritime Information Services Ltd. Nevertheless, a
large number of vessels of less than 100 GRT are operating in many small
island developing States. For example, in Maldives, inter-atoll cargoes
are carried by 250-350 dhonis (small vessels of about 50-75 d.w.t.), 9/
while in the Caribbean, some 400-500 small ships (200-300 d.w.t.) were
trading in early 1990. 10/ Similarly, 200-300 privately owned inter-island
vessels were operating in Papua New Guinea. 11/
16. The age of the small island developing States fleet is the second
qualitative factor. Seventy per cent of the merchant fleet is 15 years old
and over. This ageing fleet leads to higher operating costs, as repair and
maintenance rapidly increase with age, and schedule delays and
unreliability, as well as greater environmental risks, are associated with
obsolete vessels. In brief, the small island developing States fleet is
ageing and needs replacement. Table 4 summarizes the group age by vessel
type; the annex to the present report provides details by country.
17. Another conclusion from the fleet ownership/vessel type data is the
need for small island developing States to increase their capabilities for
serving their own trade. This is desirable because most of the fleet
(77.2 per cent) is owned abroad. While this focus provides foreign
exchange earnings, employment for seafarers and diversification, it is not
fully complementary to the trading requirements of small island developing
States since most manufactured goods move by container or general cargo
ships. The former represent only 3.6 per cent and the latter 17.5 per cent
of the small island developing States fleet (see table 3). If the vessels
registered in Singapore and the two Caribbean countries extending
open-registry facilities (Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines) are excluded from these two essential ship types (container
ships and general cargo), the small island developing States fleet is
minimal.
Table 2
Tonnage owned by the nationals of, and registered in, the country
of registry in the total fleet of the most important open and
international registers, as at 31 December 1994 a/
(Thousand of d.w.t.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country of Total tonnage Tonnage owned by Share of tonnage
registry or registered in nationals of, owned by
register the country of and registered nationals
register in, the country of in the total
registry registered fleet
(%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liberia 91 764 0 0.0
Panama 86 460 0 0.0
Cyprus 35 785 2 856 8.0
Bahamas 34 697 187 0.5
Norwegian
International
Ship Registry 31 533 29 676 94.1
Danish
International
Ship Registry 6 170 6 039 97.9
Bermuda 4 493 0 0.0
Table 3
Merchant fleets of the island developing States by flag of registration, a/
groups of countries and types of ship, b/ as at 31 December 1994
(d.w.t.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Oil Bulk
fleet tankers carriers
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bahamas 35 740 833 19 604 600 7 523 744
Cyprus 39 325 233 8 876 343 21 791 666
Cape Verde 32 320 562 ..
Comoros 2 959 .. ..
Mauritius 301 082 .. 203 750
Sao Tome and Principe 2 277 .. ..
Seychelles 3 721 .. ..
Antigua and Barbuda 1 982 504 3 711 154 253
Barbados 114 253 76 219 ..
Cuba 542 991 102 249 632
Dominica 2 833 .. ..
Dominican Republic 11 852 1 635 ..
Grenada 555 .. ..
Haiti 170 .. ..
Jamaica 10 545 3 292 ..
Saint Kitts and Nevis 550 .. ..
Saint Lucia 2 279 .. ..
Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 8 595 448 1 749 929 3 353 395
Trinidad and Tobago 17 037 .. ..
Bahrain 243 347 98 297 13 143
Maldives 106 808 12 679 19 536
Singapore 18 520 025 8 893 630 5 626 138
Malta 26 267 730 10 646 168 10 923 409
Fiji 27 385 4 705 ..
Kiribati 4 674 .. ..
Nauru .. . ..
Papua New Guinea 51 051 5 044 ..
Solomon Islands 5 746 .. ..
Tonga 12 307 .. ..
Tuvalu 77 164 .. ..
Vanuatu 2 569 838 21 833 1 669 670
Samoa 6 501 .. ..
Total small island
developing States 134 582 018 50 100 896 51 279 336
Percentage of total 100 37.2 38.1
General Container Other
cargo c/ ships types
Bahamas 5 923 633 905 637 1 783 219
Cyprus 6 562 318 1 274 668 820 238
Cape Verde 28 001 .. 3 757
Comoros 2 295 .. 664
Mauritius 85 043 .. 12 289
Sao Tome and Principe 1 285 .. 992
Seychelles 2 825 .. 896
Antigua and Barbuda 1 326 325 454 119 44 096
Barbados 20 005 .. 18 029
Cuba 298 463 .. 141 647
Dominica 2 833 .. ..
Dominican Republic 9 251 .. 966
Grenada 555 .. ..
Haiti .. .. 170
Jamaica 7 253 .. ..
Saint Kitts and Nevis 550 .. ..
Saint Lucia 2 279 .. ..
Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines 2 944 655 223 267 324 202
Trinidad and Tobago 7 524 .. 9 513
Bahrain 98 759 .. 33 148
Maldives 66 937 .. 7 656
Singapore 1 889 004 1 494 500 616 753
Malta 3 669 158 450 363 578 632
Fiji 11 078 .. 11 602
Kiribati 3 980 .. 694
Nauru .. .. ..
Papua New Guinea 42 313 .. 3 694
Solomon Islands 3 155 .. 2 591
Tonga 11 043 .. 1 264
Tuvalu 18 519 .. 58 645
Vanuatu 498 349 29 890 350 096
Samoa 6 066 .. 435
Total small island
developing States 23 543 454 4 832 444 4 825 888
Percentage of total 17.5 3.6 3.6
Source: Lloyd's Maritime Information Services Ltd., London.
a/ The designations employed and the presentation of material in this
table refer to flags of registration and do not imply the expression of any
opinion by the United Nations Secretariat concerning the legal status of
any country or territory, or of its authorities, or concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers.
b/ Ships of 100 GRT and over.
c/ Including passenger/cargo.
Table 4
Age distribution of the small island developing States fleet
by types of vessel, as at 1 July 1995 a/
(Percentage of total in terms of d.w.t.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country Types of Total 0-4 5-9 10-14 15 Average
grouping vessel years years years years age
and (years)
over b/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GROUP
AVERAGE All ships 100 4.45 5.44 19.62 70.50 18.33
Tankers 100 7.63 4.44 18.88 69.05 17.92
Bulk carriers 100 3.70 2.46 37.55 56.29 17.14
General cargo 100 3.08 6.89 13.60 76.43 18.99
Containerships 100 17.43 23.46 14.50 44.61 13.55
All others 100 2.57 3.54 30.92 62.97 17.86
Source: Compiled on the basis of data supplied by Lloyd's Maritime
Information Services Ltd. (London).
a/ Excluding open-registry countries. The group of open registries
as defined in the UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport comprises Bahamas,
Bermuda, Cyprus, Liberia and Panama.
b/ To calculate average age, it has been assumed that the ages of
vessels are distributed evenly between the lower and upper limit of each
age group. For the 15-years-and-over age group, the mid-point has been
assumed to be 2
C. Shipping industry changes
18. Restructuring trends in the international liner shipping industry are
another factor affecting the transportation capabilities of many small
island developing States. Over the past decade, consolidation and
cooperation commercial agreements between large container operators have
resulted in a concentration of services. This has created economies of
scale and encouraged the expansion of hub and spoke service patterns
between major trading areas. For small island developing States, however,
the impact has been to increase the need for transshipment port services,
acquire vessels with container-lifting capabilities, invest in electronic
data interchange (EDI) technology and train management personnel.
Moreover, without these infrastructure investments (mainly ships and port
facilities), the ability of many small island developing States to
effectively trade and sustain development will be marginal.
19. To conclude, small island developing States are more than ever
dependent on trade and efficient shipping services. These capabilities,
however, continue to deteriorate because of inappropriate and ageing ships,
ever-increasing concentration of liner shipping companies and the expansion
of hub ports that require transshipment services.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
20. Despite the diversity of the small island developing States, there are
several recommendations in the maritime sector that may be selectively
considered by each member State.
A. National level
21. It is recommended that countries:
(a) Promote investments in modern ships through fiscal policies that
encourage investment. These include, inter alia, rapid depreciation
allowances, investment credits and reducing personal income taxes for
seafarers;
(b) Upgrade maritime safety and environment administration by
advanced training through IMO and by sending government officials to
specialized training and academic institutions such as the World Maritime
University at Malmo";
(c) Encourage the development of ship repair facilities through
favourable fiscal policies and custom exemption for essential equipment and
ship components;
(d) Provide and upgrade reception facilities for ship waste;
(e) Strengthen or encourage shippers' councils to act as focal points
for the protection of shippers' interests;
(f) Support port infrastructure investments through direct loans or
by guaranteeing loans from development agencies;
(g) Consider, in the case of small island developing States with very
small island archipelagoes, the need for a licensing scheme and mail
subsidies to private ship companies;
(h) Ratify United Nations conventions pertaining to the maritime
sector, namely, the Convention on a Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences,
the United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships, the
United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods,
the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 1978
(Hamburg Rules) and the International Convention on Maritime Liens and
Mortgages, 1993);
(i) Provide additional management training for private and public
sector personnel;
(j) Gradually phase out existing over-age vessels and ban imports of
ships exceeding 15 years old that cannot meet minimum IMO safety
regulations;
(k) Improve managerial skills through a human resources programme for
national ports staff;
(l) Actively participate in UNCTAD and IMO meetings pertaining to
global shipping policy, port development and maritime safety/pollution;
(m) Upgrade maritime safety and environmental protection procedures:
(i) Consider applying international instruments adopted by the Paris
Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control, 12/ including
the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966; the Protocol of
1988 relating to the International Convention on Load Lines,
1966; the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea,
1974; the Protocols of 1978 and 1988 relating to the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974; the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating
thereto; the International Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978; the
Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea, 1972; and the Convention concerning Minimum
Standards in Merchant Ships, 1976 (ILO Convention No. 147).
B. Regional or subregional level
22. The following recommendations are made at the regional or subregional
level:
(a) Expand the maritime capabilities of the region or subregion by:
(i) Acceding to the Convention on a Code of Conduct for Liner
Conferences;
(ii) Forming an intraregional liner freight conference;
(iii) Preventing the importation of further obsolete ships into the
region;
(iv) Updating and harmonizing the maritime legislation of various
small island developing States at the subregional and national
level with a view to providing a legal framework for more
effective maritime transport;
(b) Provide an improved intraregional sea transportation service by:
(i) Establishing a ship finance division within the regional
development banks in partnership with a foreign ship mortgage
bank;
(ii) Giving berth preference to vessels carrying perishable
foodstuffs;
(iii) Giving preferential berth treatment to regular traders;
(iv) Improving ship-to-shore radio communications;
(v) Forming small shipowners' regional associations;
(c) Reduce overall sea transportation costs by improving shipping
infrastructures. Actions should include:
(i) Investigating and remedying port congestion;
(ii) Reviewing and streamlining customs and documentation procedures;
(iii) Investigating and modernizing port labour working practices;
(iv) Critically examining future capital investments for major port
development projects;
(d) Protect shippers' interests by:
(i) Establishing shippers' councils throughout the region;
(ii) Encouraging the formation of open conferences for liner ships
serving the regions;
(iii) Encouraging the shippers' councils and small shipowners'
associations to use the services of a maritime transportation
centre;
(iv) Encouraging shippers to negotiate favourable rates directly with
shipowners for indirect services using existing North-North and
North-South routes and ensuring adequate services also for
commodities with special transport needs;
(v) Promoting slot charter agreements and transshipment services at
required frequencies;
(vi) Encouraging cooperation between traders to consolidate LCL (less
than container load) shipments for economy and convenience, and
to negotiate better rates;
(vii) Promoting the exchange of information and market intelligence
between traders to identify opportunities for cooperation in
obtaining shipping and other transport services, and developing
databases for maintaining information on available shipping
services, particularly relating to South-South opportunities;
(viii) Encouraging traders, acting together, to discuss their
South-South transport needs with local transport companies, ship
operators and entrepreneurs interested in investing in shipping;
(ix) Encouraging traders to enter into agreements on the minimum
quantities required to be shipped, to justify the establishment
or improvement of services;
(e) Improve maritime managerial skills and knowledge in the region
by:
(i) Establishing a maritime transportation centre with two divisions:
a maritime safety administration and an economic policy division;
(ii) Providing subregional short training courses in shipping and port
management through schemes such as the UNCTAD Trainmar programme;
(iii) Encouraging the regional shipping lines to enter into joint
ventures with foreign shipowners with a strong training component
in the contract of agreement;
(iv) Participating actively in regional port management associations;
(f) Upgrade maritime safety and environmental protection procedures
by:
(i) Undertaking a manpower study to assess the training needs of the
region and supplement regional training capabilities, as
appropriate;
(ii) Establishing a system for the examination and issuance of
certificates of competency;
(iii) Upgrading/strengthening the procedures for inspection of ships
registered in the region.
C. International level
23. In view of the large investments involved in the development of
infrastructures and acquisition of the means of maritime transport, efforts
of small island developing States at the national and regional levels need
to be supplemented by international assistance. The international
community is urged to:
(a) Provide assistance to help small island developing States invest
in port infrastructure, modern ships for intraregional transport, port
reception facilities for ship wastes and the development of managerial and
functional skills for maritime transport;
(b) Support regional efforts of small island developing States at
improving regional maritime transportation, including maritime safety and
marine pollution.
V. CONCLUSIONS
24. The improvement in maritime capabilities of small island developing
States within the context of sustainable development will require
multilateral actions. These include decisions by individual Governments;
however, to obtain economic and political leverage, regional and
international cooperation by small island developing States is also
necessary. Conversely, without coordination, individual States will
continue to be marginalized by larger groups that already dominate economic
and maritime policy.
Notes
1/ Handbook of International Trade and Development Statistics, 1994
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E/F.95.II.D.15), table 6.2.
2/ Review of Maritime Transport, 1994 (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.95.II.D.17), p. 34.
3/ Handbook of International Trade and Development Statistics, 1994
..., table 6.1.
4/ Ibid.
5/ UNCTAD secretariat, based on data from the Statistics Division of
the United Nations Secretariat.
6/ Handbook of International Trade and Development Statistics, 1994
..., table 3.2.
7/ Ibid., table 3.3.
8/ Lloyd's Maritime Information Services Ltd, London.
9/ UNCTAD, Inter-Island Maritime Information System project report
(MDV/89/005), 1990.
10/ UNCTAD, consultant's report, Problems of Inter-Island Transport
(UNCTAD/RDP/LDC/32), 1990.
11/ Ibid.
12/ The Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control, annual
report, 1992, p. 39.
Annex
Age distribution of the small island developing States
fleet, by type of vessel, as at 1 July 1995
(Percentage of total in terms of d.w.t.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country Types of Total 0-4 5-9 10-14 15 Average
grouping vessel years years years years age
and (years)
over a/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American
Samoa
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Antigua
& Barbuda
All ships 100 30.6 9.3 32.4 27.7 11.25
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 67.5 32.5 15.25
General cargo 100 23.4 10.4 32.8 33.4 12.48
Containerships 100 53.9 9.8 22.9 13.4 7.46
All others 100 18.3 0.0 40.4 41.3 14.30
Aruba
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Bahamas
All ships 100 12.7 12.5 15.2 59.6 16.07
Tankers 100 15.2 15.3 6.0 63.5 16.07
Bulk carriers 100 7.9 7.1 28.9 56.1 16.47
General cargo 100 11.2 8.2 26.2 54.4 15.91
Containerships 100 16.3 8.6 0.5 74.6 17.40
All others 100 9.2 21.5 26.4 42.9 14.30
Bahrain
All ships 100 39.9 0.0 1.2 58.9 13.90
Tankers 100 98.7 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.26
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.6 0.0 8.7 90.7 21.01
Barbados
All ships 100 2.3 4.3 67.9 25.5 14.11
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
General cargo 100 3.4 13.4 20.3 62.9 17.28
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 11.0 0.0 39.2 49.8 15.88
Cape
Verde
All ships 100 2.6 2.7 8.18 6.6 20.27
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 3.2 0.2 0.0 96.6 21.33
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 16.3 52.8 30.9 14.28
Comoros
All ships 100 0.0 16.9 0.0 83.1 19.47
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 21.8 0.0 78.2 18.73
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Cook
Islands
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Cuba
All ships 100 0.9 5.9 6.7 86.5 20.27
Tankers 100 0.0 19.9 5.1 75.0 18.51
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
General cargo 100 1.6 3.3 10.7 84.4 20.12
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 1.8 0.0 98.2 21.73
Cyprus
All ships 100 8.5 5.0 17.8 68.7 17.77
Tankers 100 21.0 7.7 11.0 60.3 15.55
Bulk carriers 100 3.0 2.0 19.2 75.8 19.18
General cargo 100 4.0 10.7 18.3 67.0 17.77
Containerships 100 41.8 7.0 28.0 23.2 9.79
All others 100 7.2 11.7 24.3 56.8 16.38
Dominica
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Dominican
Republic
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Fiji
All ships 100 0.7 0.2 30.0 69.1 18.83
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 1.6 0.4 66.3 31.7 14.99
Grenada
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Haiti
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Jamaica
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 46.1 53.9 17.39
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Kiribati
Al ships 100 17.3 0.0 24.2 58.5 16.12
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 32.6 0.0 30.5 36.9 12.43
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 5.8 0.0 94.2 0.0 11.42
Maldives All ships 100 0.4 0.0 3.4 96.2 21.58
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
General cargo 100 0.6 0.0 5.3 94.1 21.35
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Malta
All ships 100 4.7 8.0 12.4 74.9 18.62
Tankers 100 7.5 5.9 7.4 79.2 18.88
Bulk carriers 100 2.0 10.7 18.4 68.9 18.16
General cargo 100 2.8 3.3 11.3 82.6 19.82
Containerships 100 22.2 15.8 1.6 60.4 15.03
All others 100 0.1 19.6 14.6 65.7 17.58
Marshall
Islands
All ships 100 7.2 0.8 10.5 81.5 19.39
Tankers 100 9.0 0.0 2.6 88.4 19.94
Bulk carriers 100 4.9 2.4 20.4 72.3 18.62
General cargo 100 0.0 12.8 45.2 42.0 15.56
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 40.7 59.3 17.93
All others 100 0.0 2.0 98.0 0.0 11.90
Mauritius
All ships 100 0.0 38.3 43.2 18.5 11.94
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 96.1 3.9 12.39
General cargo 100 0.0 50.9 4.6 44.5 13.91
Containerships 100 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 7.00
All others 100 1.4 15.8 0.0 82.8 19.35
Micronesia
All ships 100 0.0 1.4 0.0 98.6 21.79
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
General cargo 100 0.0 1.6 0.0 98.4 21.76
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Nauru
All ships 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Tankers 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Bulk carriers 100 .. .. .. .. ..
General cargo 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Containerships 100 .. .. .. .. ..
All others 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Netherlands
Antilles
All ships 100 3.8 8.6 58.8 28.8 14.07
Tankers 100 0.0 18.5 59.2 22.3 13.31
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 83.1 16.9 13.69
General cargo 100 7.0 9.1 41.8 42.1 15.06
Containerships 100 0.0 33.9 0.0 66.1 16.92
All others 100 2.5 4.8 78.3 14.4 12.95
Niue
All ships 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Tankers 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Bulk carriers 100 .. .. .. .. ..
General cargo 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Containerships 100 .. .. .. .. ..
All others 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Palau
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Papua
New Guinea
All ships 100 12.8 50.5 15.0 21.7 10.37
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 44.1 55.9 17.59
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 15.3 59.5 10.4 14.8 8.98
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 13.0 30.7 56.3 16.98
Saint Kitts
and Nevis
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Saint Lucia
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Saint Vincent
and the
Grenadines
All ships 100 4.5 2.3 10.5 82.7 19.71
Tankers 100 0.3 0.0 3.8 95.9 21.56
Bulk carriers 100 7.0 2.9 11.4 78.6 19.00
General cargo 100 1.9 2.4 11.1 84.6 20.15
Containerships 100 47.9 0.0 27.9 24.2 9.63
All others 100 0.1 8.3 24.9 66.7 18.25
Sao Tome and
Principe
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 29.9 70.1 19.01
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 14.0 86.0 20.60
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 46.8 53.2 17.32
Seychelles
All ships 100 5.6 0.0 0.0 94.4 20.88
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 24.5 0.0 0.0 75.5 17.10
Singapore
All ships 100 21.5 27.2 17.5 33.8 11.87
Tankers 100 21.6 37.1 6.2 35.1 11.50
Bulk carriers 100 28.8 21.7 34.5 15.0 9.54
General cargo 100 3.5 4.2 19.7 72.6 18.70
Containerships 100 20.2 20.5 10.0 49.3 13.89
All others 100 12.1 28.2 30.7 29.0 12.28
Solomon Islands
All ships 100 0.0 3.5 15.9 80.6 19.89
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 2.6 97.4 21.74
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 7.7 32.1 60.2 17.64
Tokelau
All ships 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Tankers 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Bulk carriers 100 .. .. .. .. ..
General cargo 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Containerships 100 .. .. .. .. ..
All others 100 .. .. .. .. ..
Tonga
All ships 100 1.2 0.0 1.6 97.2 21.60
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 4.3 0.0 5.9 89.8 20.55
Trinidad and Tobago
All ships 100 0.0 6.6 9.0 84.4 20.11
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 14.9 20.5 64.6 17.72
Tuvalu
All ships 100 0.0 6.5 34.9 58.6 17.54
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 17.1 59.1 23.8 13.53
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 20.1 79.9 19.99
Vanuatu
All ships 100 5.4 21.6 30.9 42.1 14.59
Tankers 100 7.9 0.0 0.0 92.1 20.42
Bulk carriers 100 5.2 23.7 28.0 43.1 14.61
General cargo 100 7.5 20.4 51.5 20.6 12.29
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 12.00
All others 100 3.1 19.7 15.0 62.2 16.93
United States Virgin
Islands
All ships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
Tankers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Bulk carriers 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
General cargo 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
Containerships 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
All others 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 22.00
GROUP AVERAGE
All ships 100 4.81 6.11 19.56 69.53 18.17
Tankers 100 8.63 4.97 16.45 69.95 17.88
Bulk carriers 100 3.92 4.70 33.83 57.54 17.13
General cargo 100 3.47 7.33 15.16 74.04 18.69
Containerships 100 18.39 17.78 21.05 42.77 13.55
All others 100 2.83 5.16 29.72 62.29 17.69
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled on the basis of data supplied by Lloyd's Maritime
Information Services Ltd., London.
a/ To calculate average age, it has been assumed that the ages of
vessels are distributed evenly between the lower and upper limits of each
age group. For the 15-years-and-over age group, the mid-point has been
assumed to be 22 years.
-----
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Date last posted: 3 December 1999 10:25:35
Comments and suggestions: DESA/DSD