A four-day workshop is being held in Suva, Fiji (20-23 October), aimed at boosting the knowledge and skills needed to develop, adopt, implement and update national maritime transport policies in relation to IMO instruments and with respect to shipping engaged in international trade. The workshop also aims to support wider regional and national maritime-related needs and objectives and show that these can be addressed while pursuing IMO-related goals. IMO pays special attention to the shipping needs of small island developing States (SIDS) and the least developed countries, under its strategic plan. Of all the SIDS around the world, more than a third are located in the Pacific region and all but one are either IMO Members States or territories of IMO Member States. Some 26 participants from Pacific Island countries are attending the workshop, which is being delivered by World Maritime University (WMU) Associate Professor and Associate Academic Dean Patrick Donner, alongside IMO’s Jonathan Pace and Nicolaos Charalambous. The workshop was jointly organized by IMO and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).