THE AUSTRALIAN Maritime Safety Authority is gearing up to host the ninth Pacific Search and Rescue workshop and third Pacific Women in Maritime Association conference.
AMSA expects 113 delegates from across the Pacific to travel to Cairns for the PACSAR and PacWIMA events, both running from 27 February until 3 March.
Australia is hosting the events with support from the International Maritime Organization and Pacific Community (SPC).
AMSA CEO Mick Kinley said it has been years since the safety regulator has had the opportunity to meet its Pacific partners in person. The events have not been held since 2020.
“We value this chance to build networks, share knowledge and skills, and develop plans to action important goals for gender equity and safety in the region,” Mr Kinley said.
AMSA said Pacific Island communities depend on the sea and shipping services for supplies, visiting family and sometimes their daily commute to work or school.
It said search and rescue operations in the region are particularly challenging.
As such, the PACSAR event intends to bring together senior SAR experts from across the region to help build the capacity of Pacific Island nations to deliver SAR responses to maritime or aviation incidents.
“The relationships that are built through the PACSAR workshops are key to building our search and rescue capacity in the region,” AMSA executive director response Mark Morrow said.
“Trust and understanding are vital, allowing us to learn from each other and support each other to deliver safe, clean oceans in the Pacific.”
AMSA said the PacWIMA conference aims to transform the maritime sector to become more inclusive of women in maritime.
The event will focus on recent advancements toward gender equality in the maritime community and action plans for future work.
AMSA executive director policy and regulation Leanne Loan said the PacWIMA conference brings together women maritime leaders from across the region to discuss the barriers to gender equity and empower women in the Pacific maritime community.
“The knowledge we gain, experiences we share and plans we make will set the agenda for coming years and allow us to reach important goals for women and girls in the region,” Ms Loan said.
And Mereseini Rakuita, principal strategic lead for Pacific women and girls at SPC, said women account for 11% of the region’s maritime sector.
“That’s only 1 in 10 of an estimated 16,000 workers,” Ms Rakuita said.
“But we know when we have a diverse workforce, we make better decisions, so ensuring women in the Pacific are able to equitably work in the sector is a critical priority for this meeting.”
