Vanuatu's undeveloped road system, with fewer than 100 miles of paved roads, consists mostly of dirt tracks suitable only for four-wheel-drive vehicles.[1] Every island has one or two short airstrips where Vanair’s Twin Otter planes land two or three times weekly.[1] In addition, every island has a small port or wharf where small cargo ships and boats regularly dock.[1]
An inter-island ferry
After arrival on an island, transportation is usually via pickup truck, foot, or small boat.[1] Bicycles are becoming popular in Vanuatu. Port Vila and Luganville have numerous taxis and mass-transit vans.[1] There are no railways in Vanuatu, although there was a small rail line on Efate during the colonial era.[2]
Highways:[2] total:
1,070 km
paved:
256 km
unpaved:
814 km (1996 est.)
Merchant marine: total:
78 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 1,266,634 GT/1,618,877 tonnes deadweight (DWT)
ships by type:
bulk 27, cargo 24, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 1, liquified gas 4, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 9, vehicle carrier 6 (1999 est.)
note:
a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 15 countries among which are ships of Japan 28, India 10, US 10, Greece 3, Hong Kong 3, Australia 2, Canada 1, China 1, and France 1 (1998 est.)
