In 2016, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with four-year funding support from the IMO-European Union Project, Capacity Building for Climate Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Industry, began an initiative to create a Global Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre (MTCC) Network and establish an MTCC in the following regions: Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.

The vision of the MTCC-Pacific is to promote a Pacific low-carbon maritime transport that supports the sustainable development goals of Pacific Islands countries and territories (PICTs) and the transition towards greener economies in the Pacific.