A regional shipping agency believes new services starting next January will ensure unreliable services to Kiribati, Nauru, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, will be a thing of the past.
The Central Pacific Shipping Commission has commitments from 3 companies that they will provide regular services to all four countries.
One of the requirements of each company is that they also offer training to seafarers from the member countries.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community's shipping advisor, John Rounds, says despite the minor routes they had six companies apply and he says there are clear reasons why.
"The fact that the four member countries have agreed to pool their whole market I think that was a bit of motivation for shipping companies to consider and I believe the other thing is there will not be any free riders or cherry pickers, and so therefore those shipping companies can start to invest more in many aspects of their operations to continue this service."
