The International Seabed Authority (ISA; French: Autorité internationale des fonds marins) is a group of 171 countries and the European Union based in Kingston, Jamaica. It was created in 1982 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and a 1994 agreement about how to carry out its work. The ISA has two main goals: to manage and control the use of the ocean floor for mining minerals, which are considered the "common heritage of all mankind," and to protect the environment of the deep sea, which lies beyond the borders of any country. The ISA oversees the deep ocean, defined as areas below 200 meters (656 feet) where sunlight is too weak for plants to grow through photosynthesis. This area covers about half of the world's oceans and includes activities that could harm marine life and ecosystems.

Since 1994, the ISA has approved more than 20 contracts for exploring the ocean floor in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Most of these contracts are for exploring the Clarion–Clipperton zone between Hawaii and Mexico, where rocks called polymetallic nodules contain minerals like copper and cobalt, which are important for making electric batteries. So far, the ISA has not approved any contracts for actual mining because it is still working on rules, and many people around the world are asking for a pause in deep-sea mining. Scientists and environmental groups warn that mining could cause serious damage to the ocean, which helps absorb carbon dioxide and is home to many unique and rare species.

The ISA is funded by countries that follow UNCLOS and by companies that want to mine the ocean floor. It operates as an independent international organization with its own Assembly, Council, and Secretariat. The current head of the ISA is Leticia Carvalho, whose four-year term started on January 1, 2025.

Origin

The Authority held its first meeting in Jamaica on November 16, 1994, the same day the Convention became active. The rules that guide the Authority were created to consider changes in politics and the economy, such as market-based methods, that affect how the Convention is carried out. In October 1996, the Authority gained observer status with the United Nations. The Authority has 167 members, including all countries that are part of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Authority works with private and public companies and other groups to allow them to explore and possibly mine certain areas on the deep ocean floor for minerals like cobalt, nickel, and manganese.

Under UNCLOS, Part XI, Section 2, "The Area and its resources belong to all people of the world." Because of this, the ISA must ensure that activities in the Area are done only for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of all people, with economic gains shared fairly and special attention given to the needs of developing countries.

The Authority is led by a Secretary-General and two main groups: the Assembly, which includes all UNCLOS members, and a 36-member Council chosen by the Assembly.

The Assembly selects a Secretary-General to serve a four-year term as the ISA’s top administrator. The Secretary-General oversees the Authority’s staff and provides an annual report to the Assembly. The Secretary-General cannot have a financial interest in any mining operations approved by the Authority.

Since the ISA was created in 1996, four people have served as Secretary-General.

The Assembly, which includes all members of the Authority, chooses the 36-member Council and the Secretary-General from candidates suggested by the Council. The Assembly also decides whether to accept or reject the Council’s recommendations about rules for seabed mining, how financial benefits from mining are shared, and the Authority’s yearly budget.

The 36-member Council, chosen by the Assembly, approves contracts with governments and companies to explore and mine the international seabed. It also sets rules and procedures for the ISA, which must be approved by the Assembly. The Council nominates a Secretary-General, who must then be elected by the full Assembly to serve a four-year term. The ISA’s yearly meetings, which usually last two weeks, are held in Kingston.

A 30-member Legal and Technical Commission, which advises the Council, and a 15-member Finance Committee, which handles budget-related matters, are also established. All members are experts chosen by governments and serve individually.

The Convention also created a group called the Enterprise, which acts as the Authority’s own mining company. This group could generate "hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties" to be shared with developing countries. The environmental group Greenpeace has raised concerns about the ISA’s possible conflict of interest as both a regulator and a business operator, though the ISA denies this claim.

Status

The organization has a Secretariat with 37 approved positions and a two-year budget of about $10,000,000 for the year 2022.

Jurisdiction

UNCLOS defines the international seabed area—the part under ISA's authority—as "the seabed and ocean floor and the area below the ocean floor, beyond the limits of national control." UNCLOS describes areas under national control as a "12 nautical-mile territorial sea; an exclusive economic zone extending up to 200 nautical miles; and a continental shelf." If a country can show that its continental shelf naturally extends beyond 200 nautical miles, it may claim up to 350 nautical miles (650 km). ISA does not decide these boundaries. Instead, another body created by UNCLOS, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, reviews scientific evidence provided by coastal nations to determine if they qualify for a larger continental shelf area.

Exploration contracts and commercial mining

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has not yet approved contracts for commercial mining. However, the ISA expects commercial mining to start as early as 2023–2024 once final regulations are completed. In 2021, Nauru, a Pacific Island nation, caused a deadline that requires the ISA to approve final regulations by July 2023 or allow mining to begin under current draft rules.

Exploratory mining includes activities such as mapping the deep sea, using submersibles or remote-controlled vehicles, taking photos or videos, and using drilling tools. Most exploration happens in the Clarion–Clipperton zone (CCZ), located in the Equatorial North Pacific Ocean, south and southeast of Hawaii, between Hawaii and Mexico. The CCZ, as large as the United States, contains polymetallic nodules—potato-sized rock-like objects made of nickel, manganese, copper, zinc, and cobalt. These nodules also support deep-sea life, including corals, sponges, and unusual creatures like ghost octopuses, crustaceans, worms, and sea cucumbers. Contractors want to mine these nodules to use in batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones, and renewable energy systems like solar and wind power.

Exploration contracts for polymetallic nodules have also been given to contractors working in the Central Indian Ocean Basin and Western Pacific Ocean. The ISA has issued contracts for polymetallic sulphides in the South West Indian Ridge, Central Indian Ridge, and Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and contracts for cobalt-rich crusts in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Each contractor must create a plan to handle problems during exploration, report yearly on their activities in their assigned area, and propose training programs for developing countries.

The ISA has signed 15-year exploration contracts with 22 contractors seeking polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides, and cobalt-rich crusts in the deep seabed.

Between 2001 and 2002, the ISA signed contracts with Yuzhmorgeologya (Russia), Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) (Bulgaria, Cuba, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia), the Republic of Korea, China Ocean Minerals Research and Development Association (COMRA) (China), Deep Ocean Resources Development Company (DORD) (Japan), Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer (IFREMER) (France), and the Government of India. In 2006, the ISA signed a 15-year contract with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany.

In 2008, the ISA received applications from private firms in Pacific island nations for polymetallic nodule exploration. These were supported by their governments and submitted by Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited. The ISA granted a 15-year contract to Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. on July 22, 2011, and to Tonga Offshore Mining Limited on January 12, 2012.

Fifteen-year contracts for polymetallic nodules were also given to G-TECH Sea Mineral Resources NV (Belgium) on January 14, 2013; Marawa Research and Exploration Ltd (Kiribati) on January 19, 2015; Ocean Mineral Singapore Pte Ltd on January 22, 2015; UK Seabed Resources Ltd (two contracts on February 8, 2013, and March 29, 2016); Cook Islands Investment Corporation on July 15, 2016; and China Minmetals Corporation on May 12, 2017.

The ISA has signed seven contracts for polymetallic sulphide exploration in the South West Indian Ridge, Central Indian Ridge, and Mid-Atlantic Ridge with China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (November 18, 2011), the Russian Federation (October 29, 2012), the Republic of Korea (June 24, 2014), IFREMER (France, November 18, 2014), the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany (May 6, 2015), the Government of India (September 26, 2016), and the Government of Poland (February 12, 2018).

The ISA holds five contracts for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust exploration in the Western Pacific Ocean with China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (April 29, 2014), Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC, January 27, 2014), the Russian Federation (March 10, 2015), Companhia De Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais (November 9, 2015), and the Republic of Korea (March 27, 2018).

Controversy

Environmentalists, scientists from 44 countries, companies like Google, BMW, and Volvo, the World Wildlife Fund, and several Pacific nations, including Fiji and Papua New Guinea, have asked for a temporary stop to deep-sea mining until more research is done to understand how it affects the ocean.

Supporters of deep-sea mining say extracting rare metals is important for making batteries for electric cars, which are needed to create an economy that does not rely on fossil fuels.

Opponents say mining the seafloor could harm the oceans, which help reduce carbon emissions by absorbing about a quarter of the world’s carbon each year.

The environmental group Greenpeace has raised concerns that deep-sea mining could destroy the homes of newly discovered species, such as crabs, whales, and snails that live near glowing underwater vents and do not eat. Greenpeace has asked the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to improve rules based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to protect the ocean. In 2018, Greenpeace warned that mining for natural gas and rare metals could harm ocean life by releasing harmful substances. Greenpeace says the ISA, which supports mining, is not the right group to regulate deep-sea mining. In 2019, Greenpeace activists protested outside the ISA’s meeting in Jamaica, asking for a global agreement to stop mining in protected ocean areas. Some activists traveled to Jamaica on Greenpeace’s ship, the Esperanza, from an area called the "Lost City in the mid-Atlantic," which Greenpeace says is at risk from mining the ISA approved.

ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge said Greenpeace’s call for a global treaty, not the ISA, to control mining does not make sense.

In 2022, The Guardian reported that the ISA did not renew a contract with Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), a group that recorded ISA meetings. Scientists warned that mining the ocean floor could cause "dangerous," "reckless," and "irreversible" harm to the environment. The ISA said the ENB’s contract was not renewed because of budget cuts. The Guardian also reported that Germany and environmentalists questioned the ISA’s Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) for holding closed meetings to set mining rules.

ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge defended the ISA, saying it is a "transparent public forum for building agreement."

In 2022, The Los Angeles Times reported that the ISA faced criticism for conflicts of interest. The newspaper said the ISA planned to approve seabed mining despite scientists’ concerns about its environmental effects. ISA head Michael Lodge criticized scientists and environmentalists, calling their concerns "environmental absolutism" and saying seabed mining is "predictable and manageable." Scientists and some of Lodge’s staff objected to Lodge appearing in a video made by a mining company to promote investments in mining for electric vehicles. In the video, Lodge said his agency supported a 15-year mining contract because "land-based resources are becoming harder to access."

Some people question the ISA’s role because the United States has not joined the Law of the Sea Treaty. In 2007, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee supported the treaty, but the full Senate did not approve it. Some Republicans said the treaty could harm U.S. national security by limiting military operations and slowing seabed mining.

One reason the U.S. did not support the treaty was that it believed the ISA was unnecessary or flawed. The original treaty included rules some found problematic, such as using money collected from mining for wealth redistribution and requiring technology sharing. The U.S. pushed for changes, leading to a 1994 agreement that reduced these issues. Despite this, the U.S. has not joined the treaty and is not a member of the ISA. However, it sends representatives to ISA meetings as an observer.

As an observer, the U.S. cannot vote on rules for deep-sea mining or sponsor companies to mine in international waters. The ISA requires companies to be supported by countries that signed the treaty. However, a U.S. military company, Lockheed Martin, is involved in two British deep-sea mining projects.

Palau was the first country to ask for a temporary stop to deep-sea mining until its effects are better understood. By July 2023, 17 countries, including Germany, New Zealand, and Fiji, had also called for a pause.

On July 29, 2024, Palau’s President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. spoke at the ISA’s 29th General Assembly in Jamaica. He called for protecting the deep ocean from exploitation and "modern-day colonialism." He said the ocean is "our greatest ally in the fight against climate change" and is the largest carbon sink on Earth. He urged the ISA to prioritize long-term ocean health over short-term economic gains and to treat the deep seabed as "the common heritage of humankind."

By the 2024 meeting, 32 countries had asked for a pause on mining for metals on the seafloor, including Austria, Guatemala, and Tuvalu.

Activities

The Authority's most important law was passed in the year 2000. This law created rules for exploring polymetallic nodules, which are also called manganese nodules. These nodules contain minerals like manganese, cobalt, copper, and nickel. They look like small potatoes and are found on the ocean floor, mainly in the Clarion–Clipperton zone of the central Pacific Ocean, with some found in the Indian Ocean.

In 2013, the ISA approved changes to its rules for deep sea exploration. These changes required explorers to avoid polluting the ocean and to report any incidents that could harm the marine environment to the Secretary-General immediately. The updated rules also stated that explorers could collect a small amount of material for testing, but not for selling.

In July 2019, the ISA's Legal and Trade Commission created a draft of rules for using mineral resources in the ocean.

In 2010, the ISA passed rules for exploring polymetallic sulphides. In 2012, the Authority passed rules for exploring cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.

In August 2002, the Council of the Authority started working on new rules for polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts. These materials contain minerals like copper, iron, zinc, silver, gold, and cobalt. Sulphides are found near volcanic hot springs, especially in the western Pacific Ocean. Crusts are found on ocean ridges and other places around the world. In 2006, the Council decided to create separate rules for sulphides and crusts, focusing first on sulphides. Most of its work in 2007 and 2008 was on sulphides, but some issues remained, such as defining areas for exploration, setting fees, and handling overlapping claims. Meanwhile, progress was made on rules for ferromanganese crusts.

In addition to making laws, the Authority holds annual workshops on seabed exploration. These workshops focus on protecting the ocean from harm. The results of these meetings are shared through reports. Studies in the Central Pacific Ocean led to a technical report about biodiversity, species movement, and how to manage the effects of deep-sea mining. A workshop in Hawaii in 2007 suggested creating "preservation reference areas" in the Clarion–Clipperton zone where mining would not be allowed to protect the environment. Recently, the ISA hosted workshops on topics like including more women in deep-sea research, managing seabed resources sustainably, providing resources and technology for Africa, and sharing the economic benefits of deep-sea mining.

National trends in seabed mining

In recent years, interest in deep sea mining, particularly for materials like ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic sulphides, has grown among companies operating in the waters near Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Tonga. Papua New Guinea became the first country to give licenses for exploring seafloor massive sulphide deposits when it allowed Nautilus Minerals to begin in 1997. Japan's new ocean policy focuses on developing methane hydrate and hydrothermal deposits in its exclusive economic zone and aims to use these resources commercially within 10 years. In his 2008 report to the Authority, Secretary-General Nandan mentioned rising demand and prices for metals such as cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese, which would come from seabed mining. He also noted that technologies being tested for offshore extraction could be used for deep sea mining.

Recently, there has been growing interest in exploring seabed resources in the Arctic Ocean, which is surrounded by Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United States. In 2020, a group of environmental organizations asked Norway's government to stop plans for deep sea mining within its jurisdiction and to oppose such activities in the Arctic before the International Seabed Authority.

Endowment fund

In 2006, the Authority created an Endowment Fund to support joint ocean research in the International Seabed Area. The Fund helps skilled scientists and experts from developing countries take part in deep-sea research projects led by global and country-based organizations. In February 2008, a campaign was started to find people to join, create a group of working organizations, and look for extra money to add to the original $3 million fund provided by the Authority.

Voluntary commitments

In 2017, the Authority made seven voluntary agreements with the UN Oceans Conference to support Sustainable Development Goal 14. These agreements were:

• OceanAction15467 – Increasing opportunities for women in marine scientific research by providing training and support.
• OceanAction15796 – Promoting the sharing of research findings through the ISA Secretary-General Award for Excellence in Deep-Sea Research.
• OceanAction16538 – Abyssal Initiative for Blue Growth (with UN-DESA).
• OceanAction16494 – Encouraging teamwork to help Africa develop its deep seabed resources in a way that supports Africa’s Blue Economy.
• OceanAction17746 – Improving understanding of deep sea ecosystems through long-term underwater oceanographic observatories.
• OceanAction17776 – Improving studies of deep sea marine life by creating online taxonomic atlases connected to deep sea mining activities.