{"id":17421,"date":"2025-05-02T19:54:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T19:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/deep-sea-crisis-can-the-isa-regain-control-of-the-deep-ocean\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T19:54:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T19:54:21","slug":"deep-sea-crisis-can-the-isa-regain-control-of-the-deep-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/deep-sea-crisis-can-the-isa-regain-control-of-the-deep-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep-Sea Crisis: Can the ISA Regain Control of the Deep Ocean?"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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The world\u2019s oceans are increasingly becoming an important new frontier in the geopolitical and economic race for critical minerals, with countries fast-tracking plans for deep-sea mining. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the global body tasked with regulating such activities is struggling to keep pace. <\/p>\n

As sovereign states ramp up efforts to access seabed resources crucial for clean energy and defense technologies, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) finds itself sidelined \u2014 raising alarms among environmentalists and nations alike.<\/p>\n

Stoking these tensions, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month with the aim of expediting deep-sea mineral extraction in both national and international waters. <\/p>\n

The directive, which calls for faster permitting and exploration, bypasses multilateral negotiations at the ISA and uses a 1980 domestic statute \u2014 the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act \u2014 to justify the unilateral action.<\/p>\n

The order \u201cestablishes the US as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration and development both within and beyond national jurisdiction,\u2019 signaling Washington\u2019s intent to secure independence from Chinese mineral supply chains.<\/p>\n

But the move has drawn fierce criticism from multiple fronts. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe US authorization \u2026 violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,\u201d said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun. Such sentiments echo concerns that unilateral actions could unravel decades of work toward collective seabed governance under the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the dispute lies the ISA, the UN agency responsible for regulating mining in international waters. <\/p>\n

Though it has issued over 30 exploratory permits, it has yet to finalize rules for commercial extraction. That regulatory vacuum has encouraged countries to approach the issue alone and in accordance with their own different agendas.<\/p>\n

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Norway reverses course on deep-sea mining <\/h3>\n

In January 2024, Norway became the first country to approve commercial-scale deep-sea mining within its own exclusive economic zone, greenlighting exploration across 280,000 square kilometers \u2014 an area larger than the UK.<\/p>\n

The move, passed through parliament despite strong domestic and international opposition, is part of the country\u2019s bid to secure metals like cobalt, scandium and lithium for green technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have a relatively long period of exploration and mapping activity to close the knowledge gap on the environmental impact,\u201d Walter Sognnes, co-founder of Loke Marine Minerals, a Norwegian company focused on deep-sea exploration, told the BBC in an interview at the time the news was announced<\/p>\n

However, environmentalists argued that the plan undermined Norway\u2019s own standards. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Norwegian government always highlighted that they want to implement the highest environmental standards,\u201d said Martin Webeler of the Environmental Justice Foundation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is hypocritical whilst you are throwing away all the scientific advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Norway Institute of Marine Research also criticized the government\u2019s decision, saying the existing environmental impact assessment was based on limited data and not representative of the vast areas opened for mining. It called for an additional five to 10 years of research before proceeding.<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, Norway reversed course, suspending its deep-sea mining plans at the end of 2024 following mounting political and environmental pressure.<\/p>\n

The first licensing round, originally set for 2025, was blocked after the Socialist Left Party threatened to withhold support for the government\u2019s budget unless the initiative was halted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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India eyes Clarion-Clipperton zone, Pacific Islands at crossroads <\/h3>\n

For its part, India has announced plans to ramp up its presence in the Pacific\u2019s Clarion-Clipperton zone, one of the world\u2019s most mineral-rich deep-sea regions. Although the ISA has already granted India two exploration contracts, the country has opted to hold off on operations as regulations remain in flux.<\/p>\n

M. Ravichandran, secretary of the country\u2019s Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the country is seeking to apply to the UN-backed ISA next year to focus on exploring the zone.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the resource-rich Pacific Islands are emerging as battlegrounds in this high-stakes race. <\/p>\n

Kiribati, a small island nation with jurisdiction over 75,000 square kilometers of prospective seabed, is reportedly in talks with China after a previous deal with Canada\u2019s The Metals Company (NASDAQ:TMC) collapsed late last year.<\/p>\n

In a statement dated March 17, the Kiribati government called discussions with Chinese ambassador Zhou Limin \u201can exciting opportunity\u201d to explore its deep-sea resources. <\/p>\n

But critics say such moves by smaller nations are often driven by economic desperation and can lead to exploitative outcomes. This tension is familiar in Papua New Guinea, where the failure of the Nautilus Minerals project left environmental damage and financial losses in its wake.<\/p>\n

Some Pacific nations are now calling for a global moratorium on seabed mining, citing concerns about the unknown risks to ecosystems and the climate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Patchwork governance, fragmented oversight <\/h3>\n

The race toward seabed mining is exposing a critical flaw in global governance: fragmentation. The ISA, which was supposed to provide a unified framework, is losing relevance as more countries chart independent courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe harm caused by deep-sea mining isn\u2019t restricted to the ocean floor: it will impact the entire water column, top to bottom,\u201d Jeff Watters, vice president for external affairs at the Ocean Conservancy, told the Guardian. <\/p>\n

A study by the Natural History Museum and the UK\u2019s National Oceanography Center analyzing a 1970s test site concludes that some sediment dwellers were able to recover, but larger animals dependent on polymetallic nodules did not return \u2014 likely because the nodules, which take millions of years to form, were destroyed.<\/p>\n

Despite these warnings, the Metals Company continues to push forward. It has said it plans to mine by the year\u2019s end, pending US government approval, as CEO Gerard Barron remains unfazed by the backlash.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere there\u2019s zero flora,\u201d Barron told the BBC in a January 2024 interview. \u201cIf we measure the amount of fauna\u2026 in the form of biomass, there is around 10g per square metre. That compares with more than 30kg of biomass where the world is pushing more nickel extraction, which is our equatorial rainforests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond environmental concerns, the deep-sea mining surge is reshaping geopolitical dynamics. China, which dominates global production and processing of rare earths, has long used its position as leverage in trade disputes. In response to US tariffs, Beijing recently introduced new export controls on rare earths \u2014 further intensifying the mineral arms race.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s executive order makes clear that seabed mining is now viewed as a national security imperative.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just drill, baby, drill. It\u2019s mine, baby, mine,\u201d said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum at a recent conference. \u201cWe will literally be at the mercy of others that are controlling our supply chains,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

But this approach risks setting a dangerous precedent. If powerful nations begin issuing their own licenses outside multilateral systems, others are likely to follow suit. The result could be a patchwork of conflicting claims and reduced protections, particularly for vulnerable maritime nations.<\/p>\n

With the ISA still developing a mining code and more countries rejecting its pace, the world faces a dilemma: how to balance the urgent demand for critical minerals with the equally pressing need to preserve fragile marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Keep reading\u2026<\/span>Show less<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on investingnews.com<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The world\u2019s oceans are increasingly becoming an important new frontier in the geopolitical and economic race for critical minerals, with countries fast-tracking plans for deep-sea mining. Meanwhile, the global body tasked with regulating such activities is struggling to keep pace. As sovereign states ramp up efforts to access seabed resources crucial for clean energy and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}