transhipment center

Majuro develops as central Pacific transhipment center

By Gift Johnson

The pieces of the fisheries puzzle have begun coming together for Majuro; a new government fisheries policy cutting red tape and fees that has brought Asian fishing boats in droves; a recently opened tuna loining plant that is exporting processed fish to American Samoa; diplomatic ties with Taiwan drawing the ROC fishing fleet and investors.

A two-year fishing boom has Marshall Islands fisheries and elected leaders smiling all the way to the bank.

Five years ago, the only reason a purse seiner pulled into Majuro was in an emergency. But times have changed, and the advent of ties with the Republic of China has raised

hope that Majuro’s long-sought

after development as a central Pacific transshipment center will come to fruition.

Last year, the Marshalls netted about $5 million in license fees from Taiwan, Japanese and Korean purse seiners, as well as a modest amount from the transshipment

operation.

But, says MIMRA (Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority) director Danny Wase, the point of the transshipment operation is not to make huge sums off the fees charged to the vessels, but rather to bring the vessels to Majuro, where the crews will spend money in stores, bars and restaurants, and the boats will refuel and resupply, injecting possibly millions of dollars into an economy long-dependent on funding from Washington.

“The government’s new fisheries policy (adopted in early 1998) has really worked well,” Wase said. The

“real money,” Wase said, is in the funds these boats spend for

reprovisioning and

refueling, as well as use of hotels, restaurants, bars and related businesses. But how to keep a mobile and fickle fleet hanging around Majuro is the vexing question. “Two things will keep the transshipment operation going in Majuro,” said new Marshalls Resources and Development Minister John Silk. “If the fish stay around

the Marshalls and if Majuro has infrastructure to service the fleet, transshipment will grow.” The country can’t do much about the former, but it may be able to do something about infrastructure.

A Taiwan businessman is proposing to establish a major shore-side repair and service facility for fishing vessels that would help cement Majuro’s role as a transshipment hub in the central Pacific. The government, not surprisingly, is pushing the fisheries investment plan of Koo Kwang Ming, a Taipei-based businessman. Koo isn’t a publicity seeker with the usual briefcase full of plans: he’s a legitimate businessman who has already invested $600,000 into the

Bank of Marshall Islands.

He also owns a fleet of five purse seiners and a transshipment carrier vessel, which he is looking at basing out of Majuro. Koo was in Majuro in late January for the second time in two months looking into the port-side development. Koo’s plan involves establishing a net repair and salt storage facility in Majuro as a first step, with dry dock facilities to follow.

The first two are critical to the operation of the huge purse seiner fleet operating in the central Pacific - and are available in a number of different islands. Koo’s fleet, for example, now heads to Guam to buy the hundreds of tons of salt it needs for storing its tuna catch. But Koo believes that purse seiners would prefer to use Majuro for repair, if the facilities were here, because it will cut many days off their travel time away from the fishing

grounds, resulting in significant

cost savings to the fishing

companies.

“Other fishing companies would use Majuro if the service was available,” he said. Wase said that MIMRA is assisting Koo to search for a suitable location for the proposed facility.

“Net repair and salt storage is a major need,” Wase said. “(Koo’s plan) would make a big contribution to attracting vessels to Majuro.”

Wase observed that “diplomatic ties with Taiwan have played a great role” in Koo’s interest in developing major fishing service and maintenance facilities in Majuro and the overall boom of Taiwan fishing vessels using Majuro to transship tuna. Of the 266 purse seiners that visited Majuro in the past year, 172 (65 per cent) were Taiwanese, according to Wase.

Koo Kwang Ming has proposed to expand shoreside facilities for Majuro