ISA continues to discuss deep-sea mining

The First Part of the 30th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) wrapped up at the end of March.

‘Any unilateral action’ on deep-sea mining ‘would constitute a violation of international law and fundamentally violate the principles of multilateralism and the collective framework under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,’ concluded Leticia Reis de Carvalho (Brazil) at the end of her first session as Secretary-General of the ISA, reports the Summary of the 1st Part of the 30th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority*.

The ISA is working to balance competing views on commercial deep-sea mining. Some 32 ISA members are calling for a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining, while others want to initiate commercial exploitation as soon as possible.

Just before the meeting’s conclusion, The Metals Company USA formally initiated a process with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under the US Department of Commerce, to apply for exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits under existing US legislation, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980.

The ISA is concerned as the US is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

At the meeting, participants considered the draft exploitation regulations for commercial deep-sea mining. At the close, they concluded the second reading of draft exploitation regulations 1-55, out of 107 contained in the consolidated text.

The second part of the session is scheduled for July 2025.

The ISA has been developing a Mining Code, designed to regulate prospecting, exploration and exploitation of marine minerals.

To date, the ISA has issued: Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules (adopted on 13 July 2000, updated on 25 July 2013); Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Sulphides (adopted on 7 May 2010); and Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Cobalt-Rich Ferromanganese Crusts (adopted on 27 July 2012).

The ISA is in the process of developing exploitation regulations.

*Citation: Asterios Tsioumanis, Asterios, Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun, and María Ovalle. 2025. Summary of the 1st Part of the 30th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority. Earth Negotiations Bulletin/IISD, Vol. 25 No. 257.