PANG commissioned a research report in 2021 to examine where natural resources are, infrastructure development projects and the financial institutions funding these developments with a specific focus on international deep-water ports in four Pacific Island Countries. These countries are: Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu. Cook Islands and Tonga are sponsors of deep-sea mining in the Area, Papua New Guinea was the first country to issue a commercial license for deep sea mining and Vanuatu holds geographic significance in the regional geopolitics.

International deep-water ports serve as important transportation hubs that facilitate the movement of goods both in and out of countries. These can connect businesses in local communities and worldwide markets. In developing countries, they function to support the exploration, exploitation and movement of raw materials to foreign jurisdiction.

In this case, the project assessed how these ports are not only contributing to the current economic activities in the countries, but also in the preparation for future extractive developments, in particular deep-sea mining.

The map tells the visual story of which aid donors are funding the ports in the region and what economic and geopolitical role they can play in securing access to and exploitation of ocean resources.