Pacific Nations Face Commercial Roadblock for Wind Propulsion

The Republic of the Marshall Islands took delivery of the sailing cargo vessel Juren Ae in October 2024, and it marked a new era in wind-propelled transport in Oceania.

The vessel’s name refers to the “steering paddle” on a Marshallese canoe, and its construction was the result of the efforts of the Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership, co-chaired by Fiji and the Marshall Islands. The partnership includes other nations such as Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau. They are all committed to decarbonizing domestic and regional maritime transport.

The phasing out of the existing fossil fuel-powered fleet would also help reduce the region’s need for expensive fossil fuels which must be imported.

However, the commitment needs funding. The small cargo and passenger volumes and the long distances between islands mean that investment in new tonnage purely for commercial gain is not likely to be viable. Public/private partnerships for more wind-powered vessels are therefore being sought.

The ability to explore, discover and settle the world's largest ocean and subsequently maintain intra-and inter-archipelago networks relied on the development of canoes with sails, so wind power has a strong historical meaning for the people of the region,