This article lists

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Road transport

The Cook Islands uses left-handed traffic. The maximum speed limit is 50 km/h. On the main island of

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

, there are no traffic lights and only two roundabouts. A bus operates clockwise and anti-clockwise services around the islands coastal ring-road. Road safety is poor. In 2011, the Cook Islands had the second-highest per-capita road deaths in the world. In 2018, crashes neared a record high, with speeding, alcohol and careless behaviour being the main causes. Motor-scooters are a common form of transport, but there was no requirement for helmets, making them a common cause of death and injuries. Legislation requiring helmets was passed in 2007, but scrapped in early 2008 before it came into force. In 2016, a law was passed requiring visitors and riders aged 16 to 25 to wear helmets, but it was widely flouted. In March 2020 the Cook Islands parliament again legislated for compulsory helmets to be worn from June 26, but implementation was delayed until July 31, and then until September 30. ; Highways: :* Total: 295 km (2018) :* Paved: 207 km (2018) :* Unpaved: 88 km (2018)

Rail transport

The Cook Islands has no effective rail transport. Rarotonga had a 170m tourist railway, the Rarotonga Steam Railway, but it is no longer in working condition.

Water transport

Avatiu Harbour, Rarotonga (482134) (9449672405)

The Cook Islands have a long history of sea transport. The islands were colonised from

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, and in turn colonised

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in ocean-going waka. In the late nineteenth century, following European contact, the islands had a significant fleet of

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

s, which they used to travel between islands and to trade with Tahiti and New Zealand. In 1899, locally owned shipping carried 10% of all international trade to the islands, and 66% of all trade carried by sail. Indigenous-owned shipping was driven out of business following New Zealand's acquisition of the islands, replaced by government-owned vessels, New Zealand trading companies, and the steamships of the Union Steamship Company. International shipping is provided by

Pacific Forum Line Pacific Forum Line (PFL) is a regional shipping line in Polynesia. Established in 1976 by the Pacific Islands Forum to ensure a regional shipping service, it was purchased in 2012 by the government of Samoa. It is currently operated as a joint ven ...

and

Matson, Inc. Matson, Inc. is an American shipping and navigation services company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1882, Matson, Inc.'s subsidiary Matson Navigation Company provides ocean shipping services across the Pacific to Hawaii, Alaska, G ...

(as EXCIL shipping). Only the port of Avatiu can handle containers, with ships unloading at

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

using

lighters A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or ...

. There are two inter-island shipping companies:

Taio Shipping Taio Shipping is a shipping company in the Cook Islands. It is the islands' main inter-island shipping company, and operates freight and passenger services between Rarotonga and the outer islands, with services once or twice a month to Atiu, Miti ...

, operating two vessels, and Cook Islands Towage, operating one. In the past, shipping interruptions have led to shortages of imported goods and fuel, and electricity blackouts on the outer islands. Shipping has frequently been subsidised to ensure service. In 2019 the Cook Islands government announced that it would acquire a dedicated cargo ship for the outer islands after Cook Islands Towage's barge was sold. It subsequently delayed the purchase pending the development of a Cook Islands Shipping Roadmap, and issued a tender for a Pa Enua Shipping Charter. The Cook Islands operates an open ship registry and has been placed on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control Black List as a

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...

. Ships registered in the Cook Islands have been used to smuggle oil from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in defiance of international sanctions. In February 2021 two ships were removed from the shipping register for concealing their movements by turning their Automatic identification system off. In April 2022 the motoryacht ''Tango'' owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg was seized in Spain. Maritime Cook Islands claimed that no other sanctioned vessels were on its registry. In July 2022 two yachts owned by sanctioned oligarch Roman Abramovich were reflagged as Cook Islands vessels, allowing them to escape arrest in Antigua and Barbuda.

Ports and harbours

* Container ports: Avatiu * Other ports:

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: R ...

(

Arutanga Arutanga is the main town of the island of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. The main wharf is located here, and there is access into the lagoon. The largest supermarket is also located in Arutanga. Its Cook Islands Christian Church was built in 1828 ...

(

) The smaller islands have passages through their reefs, but these are unsuitable for large vessels.

Merchant marine

:* total: 205 :* by type: bulk carrier 21, container ship 3, general cargo 85, oil tanker 33, other 63 (2019) :* country comparison to the world: 65

Air transport

The Cook Islands is served by one domestic airline,

Air Rarotonga Air Rarotonga is an airline based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands and is ‘The Airline of the Cook Islands’. It operates inter-island and regional scheduled services throughout the Cook Islands and to Tahiti. It also operates chartered flights t ...

. A further three foreign airlines provide international service.

Airports

There is one international airport,

Rarotonga International Airport Rarotonga International Airport ( rar, Papa Rererangi o Rarotonga) is the Cook Islands' main international gateway, located in the town and district of Avarua, Rarotonga, west of the downtown area on the northern coast. Originally built in 1 ...

. Eight airports provide local or charter services. Only Rarotonga and

Aitutaki Airport Aitutaki Airport is the airport for Aitutaki, one of the Cook Islands . The airport was originally constructed by the United States and New Zealand militaries during World War II. The runway was upgraded in 2004. The terminal building at Aituta ...

are paved. : 11 (2013) ; Airports – with paved runways: :* Total: 1 (2019) :* 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; Airports – with unpaved runways: :* Total: 10 (2013) :* 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2013) :* 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2013) :* Under 914 m: 1 (2013)

References

External links

Airports and Ports in the Cook Islands
{{Oceania in topic, Transport in