Solomon Islands Pilot Ocean Account Workplan

The Solomon Islands’ economy and social fabric depend on maritime connectivity, with the Maritime Development & Resilience Strategy 2024–2030 calling for “safe, resilient, green, clean, digital, gender-just maritime transport.” This initiative forms part of broader regional efforts under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP). Building on these commitments, the Solomon Islands is piloting a Shipping Asset Account as a practical entry point to ocean accounting, an approach that integrates maritime, economic, and environmental data for better governance and investment planning.

This workplan outlines the 16-week pilot (November 2025 to February 2026) development of a Shipping Asset Account for Solomon Islands' maritime transport sector. The project will deliver a SEEA and SNA-compliant asset account, operational spatial data dashboard, embedded capacity within SIMA, and policy-relevant technical outputs. The pilot also establishes methodological foundations for future expansion to ecosystem and pressure accounts, positioning Solomon Islands as a regional leader in maritime data governance.

See Annex 1: Data Ownership for SIMA’s permanent ownership of all project outputs, software code, and data assets, with UNSW-GOAP providing technical assistance and open-source frameworks under a full data sovereignty arrangement.

Project Outcomes

Beyond the three formal deliverables, this pilot will provide SIMA and the Solomon Islands government with critical strategic intelligence about the maritime sector:

Fleet Condition & Investment Reality

• Precise understanding of fleet age distribution and which vessels are approaching end-of-service-life
• Evidence-based estimates of investment required for phased fleet renewal (vessel replacement, safety upgrades, maintenance)
• Comparison of Solomon Islands' fleet efficiency to regional and international benchmarks

Workforce & Training Investment Case

• Clear maritime employment baseline. Determine how many people work in the maritime sector, how many jobs they hold, the hours they actually work, and what they earn. Results will be shown by province, sex, contract type, occupation, and whether workers and employers are Solomon Islands residents or not.
• Targeted skills and training pipeline. We will identify the specific roles in shortage and link them to licences and certifications. Training data (enrollment → completion → job entry and retention) will show where the pipeline is working and where it needs support.
• Simple productivity readout. We will track output per hour worked as the headline measure of labour productivity for the sector and use it to benchmark progress over time and against peers.

All measures follow national and international accounting standards (SNA/SEEA) so they can flow directly into the country’s labour accounts.

Operational Decision Support

• Evidence base for vessel deployment decisions (routing, capacity allocation, service scheduling)
• Geospatial understanding of maritime connectivity underpinning land transport and remote community access planning

Spatial Data Framework

• Verifiable, transparent data infrastructure enabling government stakeholders and development partners to understand how maritime statistics are compiled and to trust data-informed policy decisions
• Modular architecture explicitly designed to accommodate future expansion to fisheries, port infrastructure, ecosystem indicators, and integrated ocean governance—positioning the maritime pilot as foundation for multi-sector strategic capability rather than a standalone system
• Each employer and job role in vessels will carry unique identifiers and standard industry/occupation classifications so the data can plug straight into national labour and economic statistics.
• Employers and employees in vessels will be flagged as resident or non-resident, ensuring employment and earnings are counted in line with official accounting rules**.**
• Independent account maintenance capacity enabling SIMA and Solomon Islands government staff to update accounts, integrate new data sources, and adapt methods to reflect policy priorities without ongoing external consultant dependence

Climate Finance & Development Partner Engagement

• Baseline emissions profile enabling climate finance proposals to international donors (Green Climate Fund, Asian Development Bank, Global Environment Facility)
• Investment case narrative positioning maritime modernisation as climate action and development opportunity

Evidence-Based Policy Making

• Concrete data replacing assumptions in maritime policy discussions
• Maritime sector visibility in national budget and development planning (demonstrated through quantified baseline)
• Clear framing of maritime transport as central to Solomon Islands' development and climate resilience agenda

Deliverables

MILESTONE 1: Inception Report and Workplan

Inception report documenting project methodology, stakeholder consultation outcomes, data collection strategy, and ECOP onboarding plan.

Contents:

• Project overview and methodology
• Stakeholder consultation report
• Data collection requirements, strategy, and survey plan with timeline
• Confirmed ECOP onboarding and training plan

Due: 14 November 2025\

MILESTONE 2: Draft Accounts and Dashboard Test

2a. Draft National Shipping Asset Account

Physical and monetary baseline of Solomon Islands' commercial shipping fleet using SEEA/SNA framework. Captures vessel inventory and capital stock at fleet level.

Contents:

• Executive summary of account scope and key findings
• Complete vessel inventory (name, ID, type, size, age, engine specifications, status, fuel consumption)
• Capital stock estimates using Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) methodology
• Fleet indicators (age distribution, tonnage by service type, vessels requiring renewal)
• Data quality assessment (coverage %, assumptions, limitations, confidence levels)
• Metadata (data sources, classification standards, valuation assumptions)

2b. Draft Maritime Workforce & Skills Account

Snapshot of maritime employment and skills baseline to support investment case for maritime education and workforce development.

Contents:

• Executive summary of total employment, local/foreign crew composition, and/or average income
• Maritime Labor and Employment table by role, vessel type, and employment status
• Income indicators for maritime planning and development (e.g., average salaries by position, total annual wage)
• Training and certification coverage rates
• Identified skills gaps and priority areas for maritime education and training development
• Data quality assessment for other relevant maritime workforce indicators

2c. Prototype Spatial Dashboard

Functional prototype enabling visual exploration of vessel data, maritime service patterns, and port connectivity. Deployed on a staging server to gather SIMA feedback.

Contents:

• Interactive web-based map interface showing vessel locations and home ports
• Service route visualisation and port connectivity mapping
• Functional data filters (vessel type, size class, age cohort, and others)
• Low-bandwidth optimisation testing
• User feedback collection from SIMA staff during December workshop

Due: 10 December 2025

MILESTONE 3: Policy Brief and Roadmap, Final Dashboard, Comprehensive Recommendation Report

3a. Policy Brief and Roadmap

Concise, non-technical summary of key findings and strategic direction for government decision-makers plus outline of future ocean accounting expansion.

Contents—Policy Brief:

• Fleet age profile and modernisation investment needs
• Service adequacy assessment (connectivity gaps by region)
• Seafarer employment scale, training gaps, and maritime education investment case
• Climate finance context and potential funding sources
• Renewable energy investment case for transition to clean fuels supporting fleet decarbonisation
• Alignment with Maritime Development & Resilience Strategy 2024–2030

Contents—Roadmap:

• Conceptual outline for adding additional accounts
• Realistic timeline estimate
• Potential donor and partnership opportunities
• Priority sequencing for future phases

3b. Final Spatial Dashboard

Production-ready, fully operational dashboard hosted on SIMA systems enabling ongoing maritime planning and service monitoring.

Contents:

• Live deployment on SIMA server with SIMA IT staff trained on maintenance
• User guide for accessing, filtering, and exporting reports
• Technical administration documentation (user access, backups, troubleshooting)
• Offline PDF export capability for low-connectivity contexts
• Integration of SIMA feedback from December workshop

3c. Comprehensive Recommendation Report

Technical reference document providing detailed account methodology, findings interpretation, and strategic guidance for maritime sector planning.

Contents:

• Detailed explanation of SEEA/SNA framework application to Solomon Islands
• Interpretation of account findings and implications for maritime planning
• Data gaps and recommendations for strengthening future iterations
• Reliability assessment of different data elements and areas of uncertainty
• Conceptual outline of Phase 2 pathways (fishing, ports, ecosystem layers)
• Technical appendices (vessel classification standards, depreciation assumptions, full metadata)

Due: 31 January 2026

Project Timeline & Detailed Milestones

In-country workshop

The in-country engagement transfers knowledge and systems ownership to SIMA, enabling independent account maintenance and dashboard operations. It trains the ECOP and SIMA staff on accounts, builds stakeholder understanding of account findings, and positions the pilot as a foundation for the Solomon Islands understanding the importance of the maritime sector as well as sets up discussions for Phase 2.
In-country Visit 1: December 4-10 (TBC), 2025

Mid-project visit during active data collection and account compilation.

Mid-project visit during active data collection and account compilation. Edoardo will lead a focused engagement with SIMA to understand the local data environment, data challenges, and meet with SIMA stakeholders and technical staff. The visit will include collaborative data wrangling with SIMA to assess available maritime and employment datasets, and will determine additional data needs.

Workshop: 2-4 February 2026

Post-completion visit after draft accounts and dashboard are substantially finished; positioned at project conclusion.

Three-day workshop with full GOAP team. ECOP receives hands-on training on account compilation and maintenance. Dashboard is demonstrated and SIMA staff trained on dashboard administration. SIMA stakeholders and government representatives participate in account training sessions. The completed pilot account is presented to government stakeholders for validation and policy discussion.

Team Summary

Annex 1: Data Ownership

Ownership of Accounts and Data

SIMA owns all Shipping Asset Account, Maritime Workforce & Skills Account, vessel registry data, employment data, and methodologies compiled during this project. SIMA may use these outputs freely for government planning, policy development, and public communication without restrictions or future permission from SPC or CSDR.

Software & Dashboard Code

All software code, scripts, and processing tools developed for the spatial dashboard and account compilation are available to SIMA on a permanent royalty-free open source licence. SIMA may operate, modify, maintain, and transfer this code independently without dependence on the project team or ongoing licensing costs.

Future Development Rights

SIMA retains all rights to expand accounts to additional sectors (fisheries, ports, ecosystem) and to adapt systems to reflect evolving national priorities.