For Amy Ngatamaine, the Pacific One‑Maritime Framework (POMF) has moved beyond consultation and into a make‑or‑break moment: she wants Pacific transport ministers to endorse it so regional governments can start implementing its measures.
Ngatamaine, who leads the Pacific Women in Maritime Association (PacWIMA), urged ministers meeting at the sixth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting to back the framework during three days of regional transport talks. Developed by the Pacific Community in collaboration with regional maritime agencies and aligned with the Pacific Islands Forum 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific, POMF sets out a broad blueprint to boost maritime safety and security, improve shipping access for remote islands, support decarbonisation, build workforce capacity, strengthen digital systems and climate resilience, and tackle persistent inclusion gaps in the sector.
“We have been talking about it, now it’s time for implementation,” Ngatamaine said, framing endorsement as the critical next step after years of planning and consultation. For the Pacific’s many isolated communities, she said, improved shipping access and resilient port and maritime infrastructure are urgent necessities; for small island economies that depend on tourism and transport, fuel security and more affordable, reliable shipping remain daily vulnerabilities.
Ngatamaine highlighted decarbonisation and fuel security as intertwined challenges. Rising global fuel prices and supply disruptions have intensified searches for alternatives across the region, from solar and wind to cleaner ship fuels, but she cautioned that technology alone is not sufficient. “It’s not just about installing solar panels. It’s about making sure communities can maintain them, understand them, and benefit from them long‑term,” she said, pointing to past instances where donated equipment failed for lack of training and maintenance systems.
Gender imbalance and workplace harassment are also central to the framework’s ambitions. Ngatamaine’s own path — from finance into maritime security at the Cook Islands Ministry of Transport and now to PacWIMA leadership — illustrates both the barriers women face in a male‑dominated industry and the impact of allyship. PacWIMA is preparing a five‑year strategy for 2026 that targets improved representation, leadership pathways for women, and measures to address harassment and create safer workplaces.
Regional cooperation is threaded throughout POMF: the strategy explicitly recognises that Pacific states cannot solve shipping, fuel security, decarbonisation and workforce gaps in isolation. Ngatamaine urged ministers to learn from existing solutions across the Pacific and to use the framework to scale best practice and pooled approaches to training, digital systems and shared infrastructure. That regional emphasis echoes wider advocacy from Pacific governments pressing for stronger global action on shipping emissions and contingency measures after international delays on decarbonisation frameworks.
Over the next three days, transport ministers will consider POMF alongside other regional transport issues. Endorsement at this meeting would not itself implement the framework, but Ngatamaine and other maritime officials say it would unlock the next phase: detailed national plans, funding arrangements and cooperative projects. “We want women to be seen, to be heard, and to be part of decision‑making,” she said — a line that captures how the framework links technical maritime reforms to broader social and workforce change across the Pacific.