Electronic shipping charts to boost Pacific tourism development

New electronic navigational charts for small southwest Pacific island states are expected to help boost development by strengthening maritime safety, the New Zealand government announced Thursday. The government's Land Information New Zealand agency had completed electronic charts for Niue, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tokelau as part of an aid program, Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson said in a statement. "Maritime safety has long been a concern in the southwest Pacific, with many charts no longer meeting the needs of shipping in the area. The problem has worsened recently through the increase in large cruise vessels navigating in the poorly charted region," Williamson said. The International Maritime Organization under the Convention on the Safety of Life At Sea had set 2012-2018 as the deadline for certain vessels, particularly passenger vessels, tankers and other large ships, to transfer from paper based navigation to the sole use of electronic charts, he said. Pacific Islands Affairs Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said in the statement that New Zealand's aid commitment to support tourism made it imperative the Pacific nations convert from paper to electronic charts.