International Seabed Authority News

Canada's The Metals Company (TMC) aims to apply next year for a licence to start mining in the Pacific Ocean, with production expected to get underway by as early as the fourth quarter of 2025, it said in a statement.TMC has been at the forefront of efforts to begin extracting polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor, a nascent industry that could boost supplies of metals considered vital to the global energy transition, including nickel and cobalt.Environmental campaigners warn…

In the depths of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, trillions of potato-shaped rocks are scattered across the seabed - containing minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese vital for new green technologies in the global energy transition.In this ocean region - the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) - an abundance of the rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, is increasingly fuelling debate about the mining of metals needed to produce technology such as batteries for electric…

With a number of evolving maritime business opportunities intermixed with geo-political headwinds, VSM, which represents the interests of the German maritime industry as a whole, launched a campaign aimed at the federal government and the EU to understand and support the tremendous growth potential for all things maritime in Germany.According to a press notice from VSM, the tasks are enormous: economical and clean merchant ships, plants and ships for offshore renewable energy…

The International Seabed Authority will start accepting applications in July from companies that want to mine the ocean's floor, a decision that came after the U.N. body spent the past two weeks debating standards for the new and controversial practice.Deep-sea mining would extract cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese - key battery materials - from potato-sized rocks called "polymetallic nodules" on the ocean's floor at depths of 4 to 6 km (2.5 to 4 miles). They are abundant…

Norway's Loke Marine Minerals has acquired deep-sea mining firm UK Seabed Resources (UKSR) from Lockheed Martin, the companies said on Thursday.UKSR holds a 100% interest in two deep sea mineral licences in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean, and a 19.9% interest in the Ocean Mineral Singapore, licences issued by the International Seabed Authority (ISA)."We've got the approval from the UK government... Our ambition is to start extraction from 2030," Hans Olav Hide…

As companies race to expand renewable energy and the batteries to store it, finding sufficient amounts of rare earth metals to build the technology is no easy feat. That’s leading mining companies to take a closer look at a largely unexplored frontier – the deep ocean seabed.A wealth of these metals can be found in manganese nodules that look like cobblestones scattered across wide areas of deep ocean seabed. But the fragile ecosystems deep in the oceans are little understood…

Fortescue Metals executive chairman Andrew Forrest on Tuesday said his charitable foundation is in favor of a pause on seabed mining, the first time a prominent mining executive has spoken out against the nascent industry.Forrest said the Minderoo Foundation, which he and his wife Nicola fund with the dividends they get from Fortescue, will back a pause until there's sufficient evidence that damage to ocean environments can be prevented.Seabed mining would involve vacuuming up potato-sized rocks rich in battery metals that blanket vast swathes of the sea floor at depths of 4-6 kilometres…

The Metals Company (TMC) said Wednesday it had collected an initial batch of seafloor polymetallic nodules, and transported them up a 4km-long riser system to the surface in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean.TMC, the explorer of what it says is the world’s largest estimated undeveloped source of critical battery metals, said the move was a historic one, representing the first integrated system test conducted in the area since the 1970s."Having successfully completed…

The Metals Company (TMC) and Allseas have successfully completed the initial deep-water trials of the polymetallic nodule collector vehicle in the Atlantic Ocean, TMC said Thursday.To remind, back in March, The Metals Company (TMC), a company extracting battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, said it had together with its strategic partner and shareholder, Allseas, completed the deployment and wet-test commissioning of their pilot robotic nodule collector vehicle at the Port of Rotterdam…

Edward Heerema is founder and president of Allseas, which brought the world’s largest construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit, to the market. The company, which also brought innovation to the pipelay sector, has added its latest trick to Pioneering Spirit – its jacket lift system. But Allseas is also targeting deepsea mining and has its sights on the offshore wind market. Elaine Maslin caught up with Edward Heerema to find out more.The first time I met Edward Heerema was at the company’s offices in Delft, in the Netherlands.

Regulations governing deep-sea mining will take longer to finalize due to the global pandemic, a group of Latin American countries said, creating uncertainty for companies looking to mine the sea bed for metals, including cobalt and nickel.The delayed negotiations also pose a potential difficulty for companies seeking financing from investors to mine the sea floor.The U.N.’s International Seabed Authority (ISA) is working on global rules covering sea bed mining, which is not allowed…

Marine minerals are coming under sharp focus offshore Norway. Analysts suggest it could be a $20 billion annual revenue industry by 2050, which is why many are taking an interest and developing the technology to make it happen. Marine mineral mining has been something of a slow burner in the wider marine world. It has some clear challenges, not least location and depth of these potential resources, but also concerns around its environmental impact.Yet it now appears to be coming into a distinctly sharp focus…

Norway's oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world's wealthiest countries but its dreams for deep-sea discovery now center on something different.This time, Oslo is looking for a leading role in mining copper, zinc, and other metals found on the seabed and in hot demand in green technologies.Norway could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023, its oil and energy ministry told Reuters, potentially placing it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals for electric vehicle batteries…

Mining the ocean floor for submerged minerals is a little-known, experimental industry. But soon it will take place on the deep seabed, which belongs to everyone, according to international law.Seabed mining for valuable materials like copper, zinc and lithium already takes place within countries’ marine territories. As soon as 2025, larger projects could start in international waters – areas more than 200 nautical miles from shore, beyond national jurisdictions.We study ocean policy…

Mining on the sea floor should not begin before a full assessment of likely environmental impacts can be made, a report commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) said on Wednesday.Environmentalists including Britain's David Attenborough have called for a ban on deep-seabed mining that would extract resources including copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lithium, and rare earth elements from nodules on the ocean floor.The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N.

Anyone who has been around the Offshore Oil and Gas or the Marine industries for long has heard of plans for mining various minerals located on or just below the seafloor. In fact, when Howard Hughes built the Glomar Explorer in 1972, the cover story for its true mission – recovering a Soviet submarine - was that the rig would be used to mine manganese nodules from the deep ocean floor. This cover story was so effective that it had the unintended consequence of stirring great interest in ocean mining among offshore companies and the general public.In the years since…

The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Mr. Michael W. Lodge signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the first ever joint training and research center with Mr. Wang Hong, Administrator of State Oceanic Administration of China.Under the MoU, ISA and China will work together to promote knowledge of the deep ocean and its environment, and enable developing countries to benefit from the mineral resources of the international seabed area, which are recognized as the common heritage of mankind.The joint training and research center will be affiliated to the National Deep Sea Center of China and hosted by the Centre in Qingdao.In his remarks at the official signing ceremony held in Beijing, Mr.

Chairman of Association of African Maritime administrations (AAMA), Dr Dakuku Peterside has called on developed nations and corporate bodies to support Africa and other developing nations to build capacity and regulatory enforcement needed to maximize benefits of ocean economy.Dakuku who made the call in Oslo, Norway at the commencement of the world renowned Nor Shipping Conference & Exhibition, holding June 4th - 7th, 2019, noted that Ocean industries will be contributing to Sustainable development goals  only when both developing and developed nations benefit in a sustainable manner.The High level ocean leadership meeting which was organized by United Nations Global Compact and the Norwegian government at the residence of the Prime Minister of Norway…

In the 1870 Jules Verne classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", underwater explorer Captain Nemo predicted the mining of the ocean floor's mineral bounty - zinc, iron, silver and gold.India is catching up with that only now, as it prepares to unearth treasures down below, aiming to boost its economy.The floor of the world's seas is scattered with vast beds of black potato-shaped polymetallic nodules comprising copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron and rare earth elements.These natural goodies are key to making modern gadgets…

The third annual meeting between the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Secretariat and the contractors with deep-sea exploration contracts in the international deep-seabed (the Area) concluded in Changsa, China on Sunday.Delegates gathered at the three-day meeting hosted by China Minmetals from October 11-13 to discuss areas of common interest, and the next steps in moving from exploration to the sustainable development of deep-sea mineral resources.In his remarks at the opening ceremony, ISA Secretary-General Michael W. Lodge highlighted the need to advance the development of regulations for deep-sea mineral exploitation (the Mining code).

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, aiming at galvanizing concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the United Nations Ocean Conference in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Thomson will lead the United Nations advocacy and public outreach efforts inside and outside of the United Nations system, ensuring that the many positive outcomes of the Ocean Conference, including the close to 1,400 voluntary commitments, are fully analysed and implemented.

Canada may ask oil companies to contribute to the hundreds of millions of dollars or more the country has to pay to an international body if they drill far offshore, according to an internal government memo. If that happens, it could make the operations more expensive and strain talks that companies will have with provincial governments, which already require them to pay royalties. A United Nations convention, which Canada ratified in 2003, says signatories need to pay the International Seabed Authority (ISA) if companies drill on the "extended continental shelf," the seabed part of a country's landmass, but more than 200 nautical miles (230 miles) offshore. It was never clear from where that money should come.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s marine science advisory group, Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), is welcoming a new sponsor. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the agency responsible for regulating mining and related activities in the international seabed, beyond national jurisdiction, an area that includes most of the world's oceans, is becoming the tenth sponsoring organization of GESAMP. The new sponsor is joining the other nine organizations whose task is to advise the United Nations on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection. The ISA's expertise is already being put to good use…