The Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands could be hampering transparency reform at the International Maritime Organisation, an international NGO said.
This week, the UN's maritime regulation body will mull implementing new measures including making meetings public and giving journalists more access.
It comes after a Transparency International assessment in July found the organisation was plagued by outside influence.
But in a statement last week, Transparency International said it was concerned six countries, including the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands, signed a submission opposing some reforms.
The submission said expanded access to information about the International Maritime Organisation could itself lead to outside influence.