The PennsyPacific shipping deskUpdated 13 October 2026
Practical, independent guidance on shipping to the Pacific Islands
We help Australian businesses, families and project teams move cargo to Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the wider Pacific, with guides written from first-hand freight experience and checked against customs, biosecurity and port authorities.
Shipping to the Pacific Islands: A Complete Guide to Sea Freight, Costs and Customs
How freight really reaches Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the islands: the routes and hub ports, realistic transit times, what drives landed costs, and the paperwork and biosecurity rules that decide whether cargo clears in days or waits on the wharf.
Country guides and shipping essentials
Where to ship, how to ship it, and the kind of cargo you're moving.
Shipping to Papua New Guinea: Ports, Costs and Timelines
Motukea or Lae, realistic port-to-port timelines from Brisbane, getting cargo inland to the Highlands, and the customs registration to finish before your container sails.
6 min read
Shipping to Fiji: Suva vs Lautoka and Choosing Your Port
How Suva and Lautoka compare for containers, which port suits your final destination, and what to expect from FRCS clearance, 12.5% VAT and biosecurity inspection.
6 min read
Shipping to the Solomon Islands: A Guide to Honiara Cargo
The ports you can legally use, how often ships sail from Australia, goods tax ahead of the planned VAT, and moving cargo on to the provinces.
5 min read
Shipping to Vanuatu: Port Vila, Luganville and Timelines
Choosing between Port Vila and Luganville, second-hand goods permits from Biosecurity Vanuatu, access to the wharf since the 2024 earthquake, and cyclone planning.
5 min read
Sending a Container to Samoa: A Practical Guide for Families
A family guide to sending a container home to Apia: routes via Auckland or Suva, what to pack and leave out, the paperwork, VAGST and timing.
6 min read
Sending a Container to Tonga: What Families Need to Know
How containers are released at Queen Salote Wharf, why choosing a reliable forwarder matters, the latest vehicle age rules, and timing shipments around family events.
6 min read
FCL vs LCL to the Pacific Islands: Which One to Choose
How full and shared containers are charged on Pacific routes, where the break-even point really sits, and why one problem shipment can hold an LCL box.
8 min read
Air Freight vs Sea Freight to the Pacific: When Each Wins
Chargeable weight, Australian air cargo screening and dangerous goods rules explained, with a practical way to weigh freight costs against the real cost of waiting.
6 min read
Shipping a Car to the Pacific Islands: RoRo vs Container
RoRo or container, destination age limits and import licences, PPSR and registration checks in Australia, biosecurity cleaning and the true landed cost of a vehicle.
6 min read
Moving to the Pacific Islands: Shipping Your Household Goods
Self-pack or professionally packed, what to bring and leave behind, duty concessions for new residents, insurance traps and getting through biosecurity inspection.
5 min read
Project Cargo in the Pacific: Shipping Heavy Equipment
Planning heavy and oversized moves from the job site back to the wharf, with vessel options, cargo securing, inland routes, landing craft and duty concessions.
6 min read
Shipping During Pacific Cyclone Season: How to Plan Ahead
When and where Pacific cyclones strike, how they close ports and disrupt sailings, what the seasonal outlook tells you, and how to protect and insure cargo.
5 min readAustralia to PNG: two gateways, two very different jobs
The Pacific's busiest trade lane from Australia, and the decision that shapes every shipment on it.
Papua New Guinea is the largest market in the Pacific Islands. It has more people than all the other Pacific Island countries combined, and its mining, energy, agriculture and construction sectors keep a steady flow of machinery, building materials, fuel and consumer goods moving north from Australia. It's also one of the best-served Pacific trades, with specialist carriers running regular direct services from the east coast.
Almost every international container enters PNG through one of two terminals, and choosing the right one matters more than most first-time shippers realise. Port Moresby has no road link to Lae or the Highlands, so a container landed at the wrong gateway can need another voyage to reach its destination.
Lae: the gateway to the Highlands
Lae is PNG's largest container port, operated as the South Pacific International Container Terminal by ICTSI under a 25-year agreement with PNG Ports since 2017. It sits at the start of the Highlands Highway, which makes it the natural entry point for mines, plantations and businesses in the Highlands provinces, Morobe and much of the north coast. For most commercial cargo, shipping from Brisbane to PNG means a Brisbane loading and a port-to-port voyage to Lae of about a week to ten days on published 2026 rotations. The inland leg deserves as much planning as the sea leg: bridge limits, wet-season road conditions and security all affect timing and cost.
Port Moresby: the capital's terminal
The capital is served through the Motukea International Terminal on the city's outskirts, which took over the international container traffic once handled at the old Port Moresby wharf. Government, retail, construction and household cargo for the National Capital District and Central Province belongs here. Sea freight to Port Moresby is quick by Pacific standards, at roughly four to six days port to port from Brisbane, with services calling about every week or so. What slows shipments down is rarely the voyage. It's the paperwork and inspections either side of it.
What both routes have in common
On the Australian side, goods worth more than AUD 2,000, or that need an export permit, must be reported on an export declaration, though personal effects are exempt under the Australian Border Force's export rules. In PNG, importers need a Tax Identification Number, registration with PNG Customs and a licensed broker appointed on Form G26. The broker can lodge the entry in ASYCUDA World up to five working days before the vessel arrives, and duty and 10% GST, assessed on the CIF value, must be paid electronically within five clear working days, as set out in the PNG Customs Service import procedures.
Biosecurity runs alongside. NAQIA requires permits for plant and animal products before shipment and inspects goods, containers and packaging. With African swine fever present in PNG since 2020, anything containing pork draws close attention. Clean goods, ISPM 15 timber and accurate paperwork prevent most holds.
The Pacific at a glance
Main ports, border taxes and typical routings from Australia for the six most common destinations.
| Destination | Main international ports | Tax on imports | Typical routing from Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | Port Moresby (Motukea), Lae | GST 10% | Direct from the east coast, about weekly |
| Fiji | Suva, Lautoka | VAT 12.5% | Direct, often via New Caledonia, roughly fortnightly |
| Solomon Islands | Honiara, Noro | Goods tax; 15% VAT planned for around 2028 | Direct, often via PNG, roughly every couple of weeks |
| Vanuatu | Port Vila, Luganville | VAT 15% | Direct via New Caledonia and Fiji, roughly fortnightly |
| Samoa | Apia | VAGST 15% | Usually via Auckland or Suva |
| Tonga | Nuku'alofa, Neiafu | Consumption tax 15% | Usually via Auckland or Suva |
Standard rates and patterns as reported in 2026. Duty is charged on top according to each product's tariff classification, and services change, so confirm details before you book. The South-west Pacific cyclone season runs from 1 November to 30 April, so build buffers into shipments in those months. See shipping during Pacific cyclone season.
Paperwork, customs and biosecurity
The detail that decides whether cargo clears in days or waits on the wharf.
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Routes
Why Transhipment Matters for Remote Pacific Destinations
How hub ports and feeder services work, and what they do to time, cost and risk.
7 min read -
Costs
Pacific Freight Quotes Explained: Every Charge You'll Pay
Every line on a Pacific quote, from Australian terminal access charges to destination fees.
7 min read -
Customs
PNG Customs Clearance: A Practical Document Checklist
Registration, documents, payments and the mistakes that hold cargo at Motukea and Lae.
7 min read -
Customs
Import Duty and Taxes in the Pacific Islands Explained
CIF valuation, VAT and GST rates across the region, and how to estimate border taxes in advance.
7 min read -
Customs
Do You Need a Customs Broker in the Pacific Islands?
When a broker is effectively required, how to choose one, and what stays your responsibility.
6 min read -
Biosecurity
PNG Biosecurity Rules: What NAQIA Inspectors Check
Permits, inspections, African swine fever and preparing cargo that NAQIA will clear.
6 min read -
Biosecurity
ISPM 15 Explained: Wood Packaging Rules for the Pacific
The wood packaging standard explained, from reading the mark to what's exempt.
5 min read -
Biosecurity
Prohibited and Restricted Items for Pacific Island Shipments
The customs, biosecurity and dangerous goods rules that most often stop Pacific shipments.
6 min read
From the editor
Peyton Brown
Our guides are written and edited by Peyton Brown, who spent more than a decade in Pacific freight operations, documentation and customs coordination before writing full time. Every guide is checked against customs authorities, quarantine agencies and port operators, reviewed on a set schedule, and updated when rules or services change. We don't accept paid placements or sponsored rankings.
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