Find Freight, Shipping and Logistics expertise in Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands’ freight, shipping and logistics industry operates via land, air and sea. Given its location and the fact that it is made up of many small islands, transport by water is very important. Despite this, Solomon Islands has a relatively developed air freight industry which contributes significantly to the sector overall.

The European Commission estimates that in 2010 Solomon Islands exports had a value of €0.3billion and consisted of timber, fish, copra, palm oil and cocoa to China, EU and Thailand. Imports of food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels and chemicals from Australia, Singapore and China were worth €0.3 billion.

In terms of transport infrastructure, Solomon Islands has 36 airports, one of which has a paved runway and three heliports meaning that airfreight is an important element in Solomon Islands transport network. Airfreight accounted for around one million ton-kilometres in 2009, nearly all of which moved via Henderson International Airport in Honiara. In addition Solomon Island has 1,360km of roadway of which 33km is paved and 800km is private plantation road.

The Solomon Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean, so shipping and airfreight are of crucial importance to the movement of goods in and out of the country. The Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) supervises ports in the country. The main port and airfreight hub in the Solomon Islands is the capital, Honiara. The port of Honiara provides bunkering and stevedoring services, as well as forklifts, cranes, a tow head and tractors which make unstuffing, container and general cargo handling services available. The international wharf is 120m in length and has a depth of 10-13m; there are nine local jetties for inter-island freight and transport. The smaller port of Noro provides limited bunkering services and fresh water and diesel fuel is available. It has a wharf 62m in length and 14m deep.

The World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) scores countries on various aspects involved with shipping and logistics on a scale of one to five with five being the highest. The Solomon Islands scores 2.41 for LPI (2012), this put it slightly below both regional and income group averages with 2.84 for East Asia and the Pacific countries and 2.55 for lower middle income countries. Overall Solomon Islands ranked 126^th out of 155 countries worldwide.

Solomon Islands is served by leading logistics firms DHL and UPS, which are represented in the country by BJS and Solomon Airlines respectively. These and other firms offer freight forwarding, courier and customs brokerage services in the country.

The World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) scores countries on various aspects involved with shipping and logistics on a scale of one to five with five being the highest. Solomon Islands ranks in the top 100 out of 155 countries for customs (95^th) and timeliness (93^rd). It ranks below this in terms of infrastructure (137^th), shipment (118^th), logistics (144^th) and tracking (122^nd).