Meridian, home

Research / MER/26/D15

Research Paper

Rules or Race: Deep-Sea Mining between the Seabed Authority and a Unilateral Route

MER/26/D15 · Meridian Research Team ·

Rules or Race: Deep-Sea Mining between the Seabed Authority and a Unilateral Route

The International Seabed Authority has still not adopted the regulations that would govern commercial mining of the international seabed. In July 2026 its Council again stopped short, choosing instead a road map towards a negotiating text for March 2027. Meanwhile, the United States is processing applications under its own national law, including the first application for an exploration licence and a commercial recovery permit, and two exploration contractors have taken the Authority to the Seabed Disputes Chamber. This paper sets out where the multilateral and unilateral tracks stand and what to watch before the Council meets again.

Key points

  • In July 2026 the Authority's Council did not adopt exploitation regulations; it reiterated that commercial exploitation "should not be carried out in the absence of rules, regulations and procedures" and asked for a road map and an advance negotiating text before its March 2027 meeting [1; 2].
  • The Authority holds 32 exploration contracts with 22 contractors, 19 of them for polymetallic nodules, 17 of which are in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific [5].
  • In the United States, which is not a party to the Law of the Sea Convention, NOAA lists seven applications under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, including a consolidated application by The Metals Company USA for both exploration and commercial recovery [10; 11; 12].
  • The Seabed Disputes Chamber unanimously ordered the Authority on 18 July 2026 to respect due process in an inquiry into two contractors, while the Authority says the inquiry remains in effect [6; 7].
  • According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, 46 countries now support a moratorium or precautionary pause [8].

1. The regime and the gap

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea declares the seabed beyond national jurisdiction, "the Area", and its mineral resources the common heritage of humankind, and gives the International Seabed Authority the task of organising and controlling activities there [8]. The Authority has adopted regulations for prospecting and exploration for nodules, sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts, but not for exploitation [8].

That gap is the core of the present dispute. Exploration contracts run for 15 years [5], and extensions are now routine business: member States approved nine in the 2026 session alone [3]. The Authority's contract table lists 32 contracts with 22 contractors: 19 for polymetallic nodules, eight for polymetallic sulphides and five for cobalt-rich crusts [5].

ISA exploration contracts by mineral typePolymetallic nodules19Polymetallic sulphides8Cobalt-rich crusts5
Figure 1. Exploration contracts listed by the International Seabed Authority, by mineral type (32 contracts with 22 contractors). Seventeen of the 19 nodule contracts are in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone. The figures follow the contract table and regional breakdown on the Authority’s page, whose summary text gives seven sulphide contracts while its table and regional list give eight. Source: International Seabed Authority, Exploration contracts [5]. Chart drawn by Meridian from the published figures.

2. The evidence

July 2026 at the Authority. The Council met for the second part of its 31st session in Kingston from 13 to 24 July 2026, working from the third revision of the consolidated draft regulations [2; 8]. Representatives of 33 of its 36 members attended; the Assembly that followed (27–31 July) drew 85 member States [8]. Delegates reported progress on test and pilot mining, regional environmental management plans and anti-monopolisation, but many issues remain open [8].

The Council's decision ISBA/31/C/38 did not set an adoption date. It asked the Secretariat to share a draft road map by 31 October 2026, to collect written comments on it by 31 December 2026 and to publish an advance negotiating text at least six weeks before the first part of the 32nd session [1]. The Council also set deadlines of 1 October 2026 for written proposals from delegations and 25 November 2026 for those from informal working groups [2]. The Council is due to meet from 8 to 19 March and 12 to 23 July 2027, with the Assembly from 26 to 30 July 2027 [4]. As at 2 November 2026, Meridian could not find the draft road map on the Authority's public website.

Other items also slipped. The Council deferred, again, the election mechanism for the Economic Planning Commission, which is meant to assess the effects of seabed production on land-based producers; the African Group expressed "profound regret" [2; 8]. The revised budget proposal for 2027–2028 is US$30.7 million; France said that "even a 16% budget increase is excessive" [8]. At the Council's July meeting, three of the contract extensions were approved, including NORI's [8].

The chair of the Legal and Technical Commission told the Council that many contractors are spending well below their projections, a "trend of contractors slowing down their exploration programmes" that contractors attribute to the lack of exploitation rules [8].

The unilateral track. Executive Order 14285 of 24 April 2025 directed NOAA to "expedite" the review and issue of seabed exploration licences and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, and to strengthen partnerships "to counter China's growing influence over seabed mineral resources" [9]. NOAA's register now lists seven applications from five companies [11]. The Metals Company USA filed a consolidated application for an exploration licence and a commercial recovery permit on 6 February 2026, covering an area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone; NOAA found it "fully compliant" with information requirements, held a hearing on 13 October and closed comments on 19 October 2026 [10; 11]. A decision on certification is still to come [10]. One earlier TMC USA exploration application was certified on 26 May 2026, and NOAA has given notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement [11]. The only existing US exploration licences are two held by Lockheed Martin since 1984, and no commercial recovery permit has been issued [11].

Washington told the Council that its Federal Register notices "are not application approvals nor an indication of any government position" [8]. Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho had warned in March 2025 that "any unilateral action on deep-sea mining would constitute a violation of international law" [8]. In July, France, Spain and others said that unilateral activities are "outside international law", and China said unilateral exploitation plans undermine the Authority [8]. Several delegations, including the African Group, Russia and China, raised concern that applications submitted outside the Convention overlap areas reserved for the Authority's Enterprise by about 80,000 km², as reported by the Bulletin [8].

The case before the Chamber. Two exploration contractors, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited, brought proceedings against the Authority over an inquiry into possible non-compliance launched by the Council in 2025 [6]. On 18 July 2026 the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea unanimously prescribed provisional measures requiring the Authority to follow due process in the inquiry and in NORI's contract extension, and asked both sides to report by 31 August 2026 [6]. The Authority stated that the inquiry "remains in effect" and will be carried out "with due regard to all applicable legal requirements" [7]. The Assembly also discussed asking the Chamber for an advisory opinion on the legal implications for the Authority of activities "undertaken by parties outside the framework of the Convention"; Malta is facilitating consultations [3].

3. Analysis

The following assessments are Meridian analysis based on the evidence above.

First, the two tracks are now moving at different speeds. The Authority's next fixed point is a negotiating text before March 2027 [1; 4]; NOAA has already completed a comment period on a commercial recovery application [10]. If the US track produces a permit before the Mining Code exists, the argument will shift from timetables to legality.

Second, delay has its own costs for the multilateral regime. Contractors say they are slowing exploration for want of rules [8], and the Economic Planning Commission, which would protect land-based producers, still has no election mechanism [2]. Each deferral strengthens the case of those who argue that the regime cannot deliver.

Third, the legal contest is widening. The Chamber's orders constrain how the Authority disciplines its own contractors [6], while a possible advisory opinion request would test what the Convention means for activities outside it [3]. Neither question is resolved.

Fourth, the moratorium bloc is a counterweight, not a majority. Forty-six supporters [8] is a substantial minority of the Authority's membership. Because the Mining Code is being pursued by consensus, that minority cannot impose a moratorium, but it can shape, and slow, the text.

4. Assessment

  • Adoption of exploitation regulations at the March 2027 Council looks unlikely given the number of open issues; a negotiating text and agreed road map are the realistic aims [1; 2; 8].
  • NOAA's certification decision on the consolidated application is the single most consequential near-term event; certification would be followed by an environmental impact statement before any permit [10; 11].
  • Indicators to watch: publication of the draft road map and comments due by 31 December 2026; NOAA's decisions on pending applications; any further proceedings before the Seabed Disputes Chamber; and whether the Assembly agrees to request an advisory opinion.

References

  1. International Seabed Authority, Council, "Decision of the Council of the International Seabed Authority on the approach to the continuation of the elaboration of rules, regulations and procedures relating to exploitation ...", ISBA/31/C/38, 24 July 2026. https://www.isa.org.jm/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2611129E.pdf (accessed 2 November 2026).
  2. International Seabed Authority, Council, "Statement of the President on the work of the Council of the International Seabed Authority during the second part of the thirty-first session", ISBA/31/C/19/Rev.1/Add.1, advance unedited version, 11 September 2026. https://isa.org.jm/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ISBA_31_C_19_Rev.1_Add.1-Statement-of-the-President-on-the-work-of-the-Council-of-the-International-Seabed-Authority-during-the-second-part-of-the-thirty-first-session_AUV.pdf (accessed 2 November 2026).
  3. International Seabed Authority, "From the 31st to the 32nd session: advancing the Mining Code and strengthening the common heritage of humankind", September 2026. https://isa.org.jm/news/from-the-31st-to-the-32nd-session-advancing-the-mining-code-and-strengthening-the-common-heritage-of-humankind/ (accessed 2 November 2026).
  4. International Seabed Authority, "32nd session 2027". https://isa.org.jm/sessions/32nd-session-2027/ (accessed 2 November 2026).
  5. International Seabed Authority, "Exploration contracts". https://isa.org.jm/exploration-contracts/ (accessed 2 November 2026).
  6. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, "Seabed Disputes Chamber delivers its order ... (Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. v. International Seabed Authority), provisional measures", ITLOS/Press 391, 18 July 2026; and ITLOS/Press 392 (Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. v. International Seabed Authority), 18 July 2026. https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/press_releases_english/PR_391_EN.pdf and https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/press_releases_english/PR_392_EN.pdf (accessed 2 November 2026).
  7. International Seabed Authority, "Statement on the orders delivered by the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea", July 2026. https://isa.org.jm/news/statement-on-the-orders-delivered-by-the-seabed-disputes-chamber-of-the-international-tribunal-for-the-law-of-the-sea/ (accessed 2 November 2026).
  8. Earth Negotiations Bulletin (IISD), "Summary report 13–31 July 2026: 2nd Part of the 31st Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority". https://enb.iisd.org/international-seabed-authority-isa-council-31-2-summary (accessed 2 November 2026).
  9. The White House, Executive Order 14285, "Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources", 24 April 2025, Federal Register, 29 April 2025. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/29/2025-07470/unleashing-americas-offshore-critical-minerals-and-resources (accessed 2 November 2026).
  10. NOAA, "NOAA advances review of first-ever deep seabed mining commercial recovery application", August 2026. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-advances-review-of-first-ever-deep-seabed-mining-commercial-recovery-application (accessed 2 November 2026).
  11. NOAA Office for Coastal Management / National Ocean Service, "Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Mining" (licences, permits and applications under DSHMRA). https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/deep-seabed-mineral-resources/deep-seabed-mining/ (accessed 2 November 2026).
  12. United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, "Chronological lists of ratifications of, accessions and successions to the Convention and the related Agreements". https://www.un.org/depts/los/reference_files/chronological_lists_of_ratifications.htm (accessed 2 November 2026).