Governments arrive in Kingston, Jamaica this week for the International Seabed Authority’s (ISA) Council and Assembly as international law and the future of the deep sea come under increasing pressure. The Metals Company (TMC) is attempting to unilaterally mine the international seabed through US domestic law, a move widely considered illegal under international law, even as 43 countries, including for the first time three African nations, have lined up behind a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining.
The deep sea is not up for grabs,” said Sofia Tsenikli, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) Global Campaign Director. “This is a test of whether international law can protect the global ocean when a company decides the rules do not apply. Governments must not answer corporate pressure with a rushed Mining Code. They must answer with a moratorium.
The ISA Council meets under the shadow of an ongoing compliance inquiry into whether contractors have breached their obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a probe that TMC subsidiaries NORI and TOML have tried to derail through the ITLOS Seabed Disputes Chamber. NORI’s own exploration contract expires on 21 July, in the middle of the Council session while the inquiry remains open.
Extending a contract for a company under active investigation, with documented ties to the very entity leading the push to illegally and unilaterally mine our global commons, would be an extraordinary institutional failure,” said Emma Wilson, DSCC Policy Lead. “If the ISA cannot enforce its own rules against contractors it already regulates, how can anybody trust its ability to govern an entire industry?
Momentum for a moratorium continues to grow across the world, driven not only by environmental and human rights concerns, but also by mounting doubts over who would actually benefit from deep-sea mining. Independent analysis of the ISA’s current benefit-sharing proposals suggests private companies could capture 98% of the revenues, while African countries would receive just 0.49% of royalties per country.
Malawi, Kenya and Madagascar have just become the first African states to back a moratorium or precautionary pause, and it’s not hard to see why,” said David Willima, DSCC Africa Lead. “The deep sea belongs to all of humanity. Pull back the curtain and you find that profits would flow almost entirely to a handful of companies while many developing countries would receive little in return. That is not benefit-sharing. It is extraction dressed up as development.
From an international law perspective, the stakes are more fundamental still. UNCLOS is unambiguous that no state or company can acquire rights over seabed minerals outside the ISA framework.
Any attempt to mine the international seabed outside the Authority is a violation of the Convention, full stop,” said Duncan Currie, DSCC Legal Advisor. “The ITLOS filings brought by The Metals Company subsidiaries, NORI and TOML, seeking to delay the compliance inquiry are widely seen without merit, and they seek to undermine a process that goes to the heart of the ISA’s authority over the common heritage of humankind. ISA must stand firm against these efforts.
As negotiations open, the DSCC is calling on governments to ensure the compliance inquiry continues apace, not to extend NORI’s mining contract and to terminate mining contracts where breaches are confirmed, and above all, support a moratorium rather than a rushed Mining Code that rewards companies for breaking the rules.
Governments meeting in Kingston now face a clear choice. They can uphold international law, defend the ISA and protect the deep ocean, or reward companies seeking to undermine the very rules that govern the global commons.
ENDS
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Notes to the Editor:
- The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) is an alliance of more than 135 organizations worldwide advocating for the protection of the deep sea.
- The ISA Council meets in Kingston, Jamaica from 13–24 July 2026, followed by the Assembly from 27–31 July 2026.
- 43 countries now support a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining, including major businesses and financial institutions, scientists, Indigenous leaders, human rights experts and fishing groups
- A new report highlights key countries that could be connected or enable unilateral mining activities, like Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Korea, Japan, among others, and the legal obligations they need to take to prevent any unilateral activity.