Deep Seabed Mineral Exploration and Mining

An essential feature of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is the designation of the seabed beyond national jurisdiction (or the Area) as Common Heritage of Mankind, with the creation of the International Seabed Authority to allocate mining rights therein. The only private persons that may conclude a contract with the Authority and conduct extractive activities in the Area are those which are sponsored by their state of nationality or control. Currently, among those contractors, there are various corporations owned by nationals from states other than their sponsor. UNCLOS and its related instruments impose certain direct obligations on sponsoring state including a duty of due diligence to ensure that deep sea miners respect their own obligations owed to the Authority. This may require the frequent adaptation of national legislation to attain, for example, higher levels of environmental protection. This article suggests that international investment law is relevant to the relation between the contractor and its sponsoring state. Arguably the contractors’ foreign shareholders are investors protected by international investment law, and deep sea mining activities may constitute in certain circumstances an investment in the territory of the sponsoring state. In fact, investment tribunals have interpreted flexibly the investment treaty requirement of territoriality, upholding their jurisdiction over investments inclusive of transactions located beyond host state borders. However, it is unclear how international norms protecting investments might be interpreted and applied in the peculiar context provided by the Common Heritage of Mankind.

ABSTRACT: This Note addresses a fundamental ambiguity in the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (“CSLCA”). It is unclear whether the statute authorizes U.S. citizens to extract natural resources from asteroids and other celestial bodies, as is commonly assumed. Alternatively, the statute can be read to merely entitle citizens to resources that have already been obtained, where the regime for actually obtaining such resources remains undetermined. The Note resolves this issue in favor of the interpretation that best aligns with international law and policy. It first shows that the relevant elements of international law—the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (“OST”) and customary international law (“CIL”)—do not resolve the issue. The Note then adopts a broader approach by considering the OST’s anti-imperial policy. By engaging scholarship on law, colonialism, and empire, this approach centers Global South States in space law discourse. This approach reveals two ways in which the more commonly accepted interpretation of the CSLCA cuts against the anti-imperial policy of the OST, related to the distinction between private and State extraction and to State conferral of property rights. To avoid contradicting these policy concerns, the CSLCA should be read narrowly, such that it leaves open future determination of the space resources regime. Finally, the Note offers guidance for such a regime. It argues that CIL development based on subsequent legislation or mining would let Global North States asymmetrically shape international law, which would contradict the OST’s anti-imperial policy. Instead, the Note recommends multilateral agreements that employ organizationally diverse models, which mix collective and private ownership. The Note ends by reflecting on lingering questions in the context of development and the Global South.

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2018 Salzburg Global Seminar in Washington, DC as part of the Salzburg Cutler Fellowship.

Name : Dr. Capt.  M REZAUL KARIM CHOWDHURY
MBA (DU), LLB(NU), Master Mariner (S’PORE), PhD (USA)
Lead Auditor (ISO & ISM), Chief Instructor for ILO PDP
AFNI, MCILT, Member of DBA, SIArb, SCMA, IMarEST
Life member of BSTQM, BMMOA, SMMB, OFA

Professional Profile :-

Marine Training & Consultancy : Founder and Principal of Country's First private Maritime Training Institute since year 2000, Initiator of Quality Certification , Training for Trainer & Assessor courses and use of USCG(USA) & MCA(UK) approved simulator training in Maritime Education in Bangladesh, Internationally recognized marine Surveyor, Trainer & Consultant.

Media & Journalism : Currently Senior Vice President of BOMA (Bangladesh Online Media Association), Editor of online news portal Amadersangbad.com and Amadersenbag.com. Editor and publisher of country’s first Maritime news paper "Bay Trade Express"(DA No. 6301/14).

Law and Arbitration : Member of Dhaka Bar Association, Member of Singapore Institute of International Arbitration and Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitrators. Internationally recognized researcher on UNCLOS (United Nation's Convention on Law of Seas)

Security Consultancy : Have working experience with RAB HQ, NSI HQ, ARMY HQ and MI.

Pedagogy and Research : Serving as Adjunct Faculty at BSMMU (Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University) ,
Worked as visiting lecturer since 1998 at both pioneer organizations providing internationally recognized maritime training to Bangladeshi seafarers :-
Marine Academy, Chittagong , which is also a branch of WMU (WorldMaritime University , Malmo)
Seaman Training Center, Chittagong , which is currently known as NMI(National Maritime Institute)

Worked as External Training consultant at STET Maritime Education Pte Ltd since 2006 as MPA (Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore) approved maritime trainer , only such overseas trainer from Bangladesh.
Trained as Chief Instructor for ILO Port worker Development Program, Conducted by ILO at Singapore.
Completed Simulated Training in India :-
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.
RADAR & ARPA (Operation level).
RADAR & ARPA (Management level) 




Academic Qualification :-
SSC- Faujderhat Cadet College, Science, First Division (74.6%)
HSC- Faujderhat Cadet College, Science, First Division (74.8%)
Nautical Science Degree- Marine Academy, Extra First Class (80.1%)
Master Mariner – (MPA, Singapore)- Class 1 FG COC
AMT - Advanced Diploma in Maritime Transportation from SMA,Singapore , with DIST. in Ship Board Management
BA- Chittagong University, Bangladesh 1993
MBA- Dhaka University, Bangladesh 2005 , Finance & Banking
LLB- National University, Bangladesh 2003
CMA- Completed Level Inter, Institute of Cost & Management Accounting, Bangladesh with DIST. in BCRW & Completed ACCA –Level 1
Chief Instructor Course – ILO Port Worker Development program
International Arbitration Course – SIArb , Singapore

Research :- Under Dhaka University Faculty of Business Studies “ Diminishing Role of Inland Water Transport as a GDP contributor in Bangladesh ” with data between 1970 to 2000, and “ Use of ICT for growth in a Ship management company”
Under American World University (California , USA) , completed PhD thesis on “ Government and Politics "



QUALITY EDUCATION: -
ISO 9000 Lead Assessor Course- Bureau Varitas (IRCA Accredited).
ISM Code, Port State Control, Human Recourse, Internal Audit    seminars and workshop- Germanischer Lloyds.
ISO 9001: 2000 Update Courses Accredited By IRCA, BVQI, RAB.

QUALITY EXPERIENCE: -
Design, Develop & Implement QMS (ISO 9001: 2k) of Various Organization .
BVQI Team Member of Certification Audit for Gaziwires & Farkantex.
BVQI Team Member of Pre-Certification Audit for Chittagong Dry Dock.
ISM Audits on Vessels (Including ISO 9000 & 14000).


SEA SERVICE: -
Between 1991 to 2000 Served on Vessels in OSM HongKong, ESM Hongkong, GNMTC Lybia, BSC Chittagong, MISC Kuala Lumpur, NYK lines Tokyo etc. in various capacity.
Later served as Master on tankers and as Master/ Project Manager on an offshore Drill ship fitted with DP system . During this period drill ship converted into a diver training vessel .

ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL TRAINING: -
A. Security Trained under IMO Technical cooperation.
B. Completed Simulated Training on-
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.
RADAR & ARPA (Operation level).
RADAR & ARPA (Management level)
Seminar & Workshop in Areas of Law, Environment & Marine training at
    MIST, Nautical Institute, CILT and DOS.
        Security Equipment(BDS) Training at STET Singapore. 
Trained as Chief Instructor for ILO Port worker Development Program,Conducted jointly by ILO & STET Maritime ET , Singapore.
Participated in seminar and work shop under BTSP project of European Union on legislation for Maritime Environment Protection in Bangladesh , Attended Nautical Institute’s First CPD seminar at IMO HQ, London.

WORKING EXPERIENCE(Maritime, Security, Transport Management, Law & Arbitration and Financial Consultancy etc.) : -
Worked as visiting lecturer in-
Marine Academy, Chittagong
Seaman Training Center, Chittagong

Working as Principal & Executive Director of Maritime Institute of Science and Technology. (Country’s first non- Government Maritime Institute), Founder of NOAH Foundation Ltd. and MIST which is the first ISO 9001certified Maritime Training Institute of Bangladesh , also first private sector Maritime Training Facility to provide STCW95 courses for seafarers.
Licensed as Marine Surveyor since 2001 from DOS, Bangladesh.
Govt. Enlisted Assessor In Marine Court since 2002, in Bangladesh.
Worked as Chairman of NOAH CAB Ltd. from 2002 to 2005.
CEO of Silicon-Valley Security Solutions since 2003 where worked with Military Intelligence, RAB HQ, NSI HQ, Mongla Port Authority , Banks and Manufacturing industries for implementation of security projects
Worked as External Training consultant at STET Maritime Education Pte Ltd since 2006. Licensed as Panama Flag surveyor and Licensed as IS Class , Singapore surveyor.
As consultant to shipping companies assisted in seafarer recruitment & crew management (Owner of a Govt. Licensed ship manning agency in Bangladesh), also worked as chartering broker , SNP assessor , crew training & technical manager for shipping company.
A registered member of Bar Council ,i.e. Licensed Law practitioner in the courts of Bangladesh.
Member of SIArb and SCMA to work as arbitrator under S’pore Law.
Free lance consultant to Local NGO and Microcredit / Microfinance organizations.

Language: -
Beside Bangla & English, have primary lesson in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Malay & few other languages.

AFFILIATION WITH PROFESSIONAL BODIES: -
Associate Fellow : Nautical Institute, London - AFNI
Life Member : Society of Master Mariners, Bangladesh - MBSMM
Chartered Member : Chartered Institute of Logistic and Transport,London. CMILT
EC Member of : BSTQM (Bangladesh Society for Total QualityManagement)- MBSTQM
Life Member of : Bangladesh Merchant Marine OfficerAssociation(MBMMOA) and Old Faujian Association (Ex cadets ofFaujderhat Cadet College),OFA
Member : Dhaka Bar Association & Bangladesh Bar Council
Professional Member : Institute of Marine Engineering , Science &Technology , London – MImarEST
Member : SIArb- Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and SCMA- Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitrators.


Regional Maritime Safety Improvement effort :-
Established Bangladesh Bay Pilot Society in 2005 as its founder Secretary General , which is a registered organization and working with Government and Private sector for improvement of Navigational safety in coastal areas of Bay of Bengal .
Participated and contributed as a member of National Maritime Council between 2000 to 2012 which helped in shaping maritime policies during the period.
In addition Publishing country's only Maritime News paper "Bay Trade Express" (www.baytradeexpress.com) , and also founded Bay Maritime Law and Arbitration Society in Bangladesh for enhancement of maritime safety and sustainability.
Many research papers presented at national and International seminars including those at World Ocean Congress (Maritime Dispute Resolution Mechanism) and World Maritime Day 2002 Seminar at DOS (Enhancement of Maritime Safety in waterways of Bangladesh , with special reference to Ship Survey and Channel Dredging) , which had helped policy makers to amend the Merchant shipping Act for Local ship survey and focus on capital and maintenance dredging of Navigable Channels as priority in maritime safety.


Date : 08/08/2017

The rapidly increasing global populations and socio-economic development in the Global South have resulted in rising demand for natural resources. There are many plans for harvesting natural resources from the ocean floor, especially rare metals and minerals. However, if proper care is not taken, there is substantial potential for long-lasting and even irreversible physical and environmental impacts on the deep-sea ecosystems, including on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the literature on some potentials and risks to deep seabed mining (DSM), outlining its legal aspects and environmental impacts. It presents two case studies that describe the environmental risks related to this exploitative process. They include significant disturbance of the seabed, light and noise pollution, the creation of plumes, and negative impacts on the surface, benthic, and meso- and bathypelagic zones. The study suggests some of the issues interested companies should consider in preventing the potential physical and environmental damages DSM may cause. Sustainable mining and the use of minerals are vital in meeting various industrial demands.

Polymetallic nodules found on the abyssal plains of the oceans represent one of the slowest known geological processes, and are a source of critical and rare metals for frontier technologies. A quantitative assessment of their occurrence worldwide has been hampered by a research focus on the northeastern Pacific Ocean and the lack of a global open-access data set of nodules. We have compiled a global data set of >10,000 seabed nodule and control samples, and combine it with digital grids of key environmental parameters to generate a predictive machine-learning model of nodule occurrence. In order of decreasing parameter ranking, we find that nodules are associated with very low sedimentation rates (< 0.5 cm/k.y.), moderately high oxygen values (150 and 210 mmol/m3), lithologies of clay followed by calcareous ooze, low summer surface productivity (<300 mgC/m2/day), low benthic biomass concentration (<1 log mgC/m2), water depths >4500 m, and low total organic carbon content (0.3–0.5 wt%). Com- peting hypotheses for nodule sustention and thus continued growth on the seafloor are the removal of sediment by bottom-water currents and biological activity. Using a high-resolution eddy-resolving ocean circulation model, we find that the bottom-current speeds over nodule fields are too low (<5 cm/s) to remove sediment, implicating the activity of epibenthic mega- fauna as the most likely mechanism. Our global nodule probability map combined with the assessment of a range of environmental drivers provides an improved basis for decision and policy making in the controversial area of deep-sea exploration.

Seafloor mounds are enigmatic features along many continental margins and are often interpreted as gas hydrate pingoes, seep deposits, mud volcanoes, or hydrothermal mounds. When such mounds occur in basins with past volcanic activities, they have the potential to host seafloor metalliferous deposits, which is generally overlooked. Using geophysical datasets, we document the fluid plumbing systems that promoted the formation of seafloor mounds in the Great South Basin (GSB), offshore New Zealand. We also investigate these mounds as potential seafloor metalliferous deposits. Our results reveal 9 seafloor mounds (~ 137 m high) above gigantic (~ 5.4 km high) fluid escape pipes that are associated with deeper crystalline rocks. The structural make-up of the mounds, their geospatial relationships with the pipes and intrusive rocks, and geophysical properties suggest a primary volcanic or hydrothermal origin for the culpable fluids and mounds respectively. Fluids derived from deeper coal ...

Following its global emergence, the blue economy agenda is now touted as a mechanism through which the Republic of Namibia can achieve long-term sustainable and equitable growth. In (re)defining the ocean, seabed mining has been central to these discussions. Drawing on fieldwork and semi-structured interviews undertaken with key actors in Namibia and South Africa, between 2016 and 2017, as well as recent policy debates and discourse surrounding the potential extraction of marine phosphate in Namibia this article critically examines the framing of the marine environment as an extractive space. The blue economy presents opportunities for new forms of capitalist accumulation and this has resulted in struggles over who can accumulate in the marine sphere. This article therefore analyses the emerging and competing claims to sovereignty over this "new" resource frontier, including by state and non-state actors, and identifies which actors have been included or excluded from the blue economy agenda. In discussing sovereignty over this frontier and resources therein, it undertakes a rigorous analysis of the complications created by the ocean as a three-dimensional, voluminous, "borderless" space. Résumé Après son émergence à l'échelle mondiale, le programme de l'économie bleue est désormais présenté comme un mécanisme permettant à la République de Namibie de réaliser une croissance durable et équitable à long terme. Dans la (re) définition de l'océan, l'exploitation des fonds marins a été au centre de ces discussions. À l'aide de travaux sur le terrain et d'entretiens semi-structurés menés entre 2016 et 2017 avec des acteurs clés en Namibie et en Afrique du Sud, ainsi que des débats politiques récents concernant le potentiel d'extraction du phosphate marin en Namibie, cet article examine de manière critique le rôle du «espace extractif». S'appuyant sur les récents débats politiques et débats entourant l'extraction potentielle de phosphate marin en Namibie, cet article examine de manière critique le cadrage de l'environnement marin en tant qu'espace d'extraction. L'économie bleue offre de nouvelles possibilités d'accumulation capitaliste, ce qui a entraîné des conflits pour déterminer qui peut s'accumuler dans le monde marin. Cet article analyse donc les revendications de souveraineté émergentes et concurrentes sur cette «nouvelle» frontière de ressources, notamment d'acteurs étatiques et non étatiques, et identifie les acteurs qui ont été inclus ou exclus du programme de l'économie bleue. En discutant de la souveraineté sur cette frontière et des ressources qui s'y trouvent, il entreprend une analyse rigoureuse des complications créées par l'océan en tant qu'espace tridimensionnel, volumineux et «sans frontières». Mots clés: Namibie, exploitation minière des fonds marins, souveraineté, frontière, économie bleue, ZEE Resumen Tras su surgimiento global, la agenda económica azul es ahora publicada como un mecanismo con el que la República de Namibia puede alcanzar un crecimiento sustentable y equitativo de largo plazo. Al (re)definir el océano, la explotación minera de fondos marinos ha sido central en estas discusiones. Utilizo el trabajo de campo y entrevistas semiestructuradas con actores clave en Namibia y Sudáfrica entre 2016 y 2017, y el análisis de los recientes debates sobre políticas en torno a la posible extracción de fosfato marino en Namibia, para examinar críticamente el marco del entorno marino como "espacio extractivo." Con base en los recientes debates sobre políticas y discursos de la potencial extracción de fosfato marino en Namibia, este artículo hace un examen crítico del marco del ambiente marino como espacio de extracción. La economía azul presenta oportunidades para nuevas formas de acumulación capitalista, lo que ha resultado en una lucha para quienes pueden acumular en la esfera marina. Por lo tanto, este artículo analiza la emergencia y la variedad de demandas de soberanía por parte de actores oficiales y no oficiales, sobre este "nuevo" recurso de la última frontera; además, identifica qué actores han sido incluidos o excluidos de la agenda de la economía azul. En la discusión de la soberanía sobre esta frontera y los recursos que ahí se encuentran, se hace un riguroso análisis de las complicaciones creadas por el océano como un espacio tridimensional, voluminoso y "carente de fronteras." Palabras clave: Namibia, explotación minera del fondo marino, soberanía, frontera, economía, EEZ

The rapidly increasing global populations and socio-economic development in the Global South have resulted in rising demand for natural resources. There are many plans for harvesting natural resources from the ocean floor, especially rare metals and minerals. However, if proper care is not taken, there is substantial potential for long-lasting and even irreversible physical and environmental impacts on the deep-sea ecosystems, including on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the literature on some potentials and risks to deep seabed mining (DSM), outlining its legal aspects and environmental impacts. It presents two case studies that describe the environmental risks related to this exploitative process. They include significant disturbance of the seabed, light and noise pollution, the creation of plumes, and negative impacts on the surface, benthic, and meso- and bathypelagic zones. The study suggests some of the issues interested companies should consider in ...

Looking beyond a post-colonial approach concerning the ways in which rich countries exploit poor ones, this chapter explores how Pacific islanders have the desire to be present and acknowledged within the global system. The first part is focused on the shift from the imperialist ‘mineral rush’ to large-scale mining. Decades of colonial and economic imperialism have capitalised the natural and human resources influencing the course of social change in the region. But now local communities have striven to take their place on the global economic stage by deploying tactics designed to re- appropriate the benefits of mining for themselves. Capitalism, in particular mining activity, is not necessarily perceived by indigenous peoples as an antagonistic by definition, as often emerges in mainstream Western environmental discourse. It is rather an ambivalent phenomenon, but for some communities it is a means to achieve economic, social and cultural goals. Looking at the contextual particularities of economic imperialism in the Pacific Islands allow us to analyse the various forms through which the global economic system is articulated in a specific local context, focusing on the different ways in which social actors resist, transform and domesticate the hegemonic elements co- ming from outside. To this end, the ethnographic material collected in New Caledonia can be illu- minating. The attempt of independentist Kanaks in New Caledonia (a French dependency) to “dis- enclave” mining activity prompts reflection on how imperialistic control over strategic commodities might be progressively halted. The second part of this chapter is centred on the shift of the world's growth from land to sea. Looking at current geopolitical relations in the region, these appear to re- volve around maritime space. The Pacific Ocean has become, on the one hand, a conflictual centre of wealth extraction where the interests of the individual states are staged, and on the other a continent made up of water where native societies see themselves as a "sea of islands”.

Keywords: economic imperialism, resource extraction, decolonisation, sovereignty, moral economies, eco-cosmologies.

The rapidly increasing global populations and socio-economic development in the Global South have resulted in rising demand for natural resources. There are many plans for harvesting natural resources from the ocean floor, especially rare metals and minerals. However, if proper care is not taken, there is substantial potential for long-lasting and even irreversible physical and environmental impacts on the deep-sea ecosystems, including on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the literature on some potentials and risks to deep seabed mining (DSM), outlining its legal aspects and environmental impacts. It presents two case studies that describe the environmental risks related to this exploitative process. They include significant disturbance of the seabed, light and noise pollution, the creation of plumes, and negative impacts on the surface, benthic, and meso- and bathypelagic zones. The study suggests some of the issues interested companies should consider in ...

A B S T R A C T In the governance of natural resources, transparency has been linked to improved accountability, as well as enforceability, compliance, sustainability, and ultimately more equitable outcomes. Here, good practices in transparency relevant to the emerging governance of deep-seabed mining in the Area beyond national jurisdiction are identified and compared with current practices of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The analysis found six areas of good transparency practice that could improve the accountability of deep-seabed mining: i) access to information; ii) reporting; iii) quality assurance; iv) compliance information / accreditation; v) public participation; and vi) ability to review / appeal decisions. The ISA has in some instances adopted progressive practices regarding its rules, regulations, and procedures (e.g. including the precautionary approach). However, the results here show that overall the ISA will need to consider improvements in each of the six categories above, in order to reflect contemporary best transparency practices, as well as meeting historical expectations embodied in the principle of the 'common heritage of mankind'. This would involve a revision of its rules and procedures. The ongoing review and drafting of the ISA's deep-seabed mining exploitation regulations offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve upon the current situation. Findings from this analysis are summarised in 18 recommendations, including publication of annual reports submitted by contractors, publication of annual financial statements, development of a transparency policy, compliance reporting, and dedicated access to Committee meetings.

This paper examines the recent oceanic turn in the humanities, particularly what French theorist Gaston Bachelard once termed the “depth imagination” and argues that it has been reconstituted by a new era of extraction, in both material and imaginary terms. Marine biologist Sylvia Earle reminds us of the true value of ‘extraction’ as the possibility of species being. Extraction is also about futurity, narrative, technology, and speculation. Here I stage an interdisciplinary conversation between recent scholarship about the speculative practices of Deep Sea Mining (DSM) and speculative fiction (sf) that imagines techno-utopian futures of human life under the sea. In doing so I raise questions about the ways in which particular kinds of literary genres and reading practices produce an extractive imaginary, and examine the uncomfortable neoliberal overlap between the concept of innovation as a driver of the blue economy as well as the emergent field of the blue humanities.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003205173/laws-sea-irus-braverman

The extension of the continental shelf holds the attention of the whole International Community.
With nearly 105 claims lodged to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in June 2012, the extension interests States that are parties to the LOS Convention as well as States that are not.
The rather sudden interest that States have shown since 2001 in the portion of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles offers a unique opportunity to study the impact of this extension in the New Law of the Sea from the perspective of the territorial obsession that drives States.
The creation and evolution of the continental shelf and the area of the extended continental shelf in the Law of the Sea are important steps in the perception and management of the ocean space.
Motivated by economic and political considerations, coastal States undertake a race to the extension of the continental shelf.
But this race, lured by promises of seabed richness that are though uncertain, is not guided solely by selfish national interests.
It cleverly mixes the articulation of the common interest and the special interest of States, correcting the continental shelf legal regime, which originally appears to be highly discriminatory, geographically and financially.
The establishment of the continental shelf and its extension by the New Law of the Sea also effect a profound change in the balance of its legal regime.
From a single uncertain continental shelf boundary in 1958, the continental shelf is now divided into two zones, extending below and beyond 200 nautical miles.
This distinction creates a duality of legal regime questioning the relationship between the procedure of extension and the sovereign rights of the coastal State, enshrined as ipso facto and ab initio.
The new definition of the continental shelf and the incorporation of the principle of natural prolongation of the land territory reveal the legal relationship between the State and its shelf.
This link is not one of resources, but of territory, revealing publicly the continental shelf as an accessory territory of the coastal State.
A new type of institution is at the heart of the extension procedure: the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Its innovative role is essential to the proper conduct of the extension procedure, but its role is difficult.
It faces the strong and safeguarded power of the coastal State in the definition of its territorial limits, as well as the limitations of its own mandate erecting major barriers in its power to interpret.
The significant voluntary participation of States in this extension procedure further demonstrates the symbolism and the role of this definition of the outer limit of the continental shelf within the Law of the Sea.
This limit is not solely a definition of a unilateral limit, it appears to be a multilateral platform encouraging the dialogue between States and the laboratory preparing the drawing of an emerging border.
This boundary is unprecedented in nature, since for the first time the national state interest is confronting the interest of Humanity represented by the International Seabed Authority, in charge of the common heritage of mankind.

Foreign capital has increasingly become involved in the exploration for deep sea minerals in the Area. Foreign-owned  companies have received  the sponsorship of their state of incorporation, as required by UNCLOS, in order to be granted a contract by the International Seabed Authority. Sponsoring states’ policies toward such foreign-owned  entities may go further than the mere implementation of UNCLOS obligations by pursuing national objectives such as better environmental protection or greater financial benefits for the local population. However, international law confers certain protections to foreign investment by binding states to  respect  an  international minimum  standard  of  treatment. Various UNCLOS  provisions incorporate  those  guarantees, which could consequently be litigated through the dispute settlement system in Part XI of the convention.Yet, only the contractors’ state of nationality and the Authority have the required standing to do sounder the convention.

The article studies the history, legal framework of the International Seabed Authority, its func-tions, structure and current work. The analysis focuses on potential fields of ISA activity in the Arctic. De-spite the ongoing expert discussions, the author is of the view that Part XI of the 1982 Law of the Sea Con-vention, setting out the legal basis for the governance of the Area resources and the work of ISA, applies to the Arctic Ocean like to any other part of the world ocean. The primary function of ISA is to regulate explo-ration and exploitation of deep seabed non-living resources beyond national jurisdiction. Apart from that, ISA will be engaged in other issues — implementation of the UNCLOS provisions on the payments by the coastal states concerning the exploitation of non-living resources on the outer continental shelf, coordina-tion of marine scientific research in the Area, dissemination of its results, etc. Moreover, in the future, ISA could play a significant role in the integrated cross-border and cross-sectoral ecosystem governance of the Arctic Ocean.

Low carbon dioxide concentrations 180 ppm occurred during the Ice Ages whereas this year carbon dioxide in the Arctic has even exceeded 425 ppm in some measuring stations. There have been very intensive warming in the Laptev Sea and Yakutia that has destabilised methane clathrates from the frozen seabed and methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide from the melting permafrost terrains. In additionm the forest fires have released carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and smoke into the air crossing the Arctic and Subarctic. These releases of methane and carbon from seabed originate from some geochemical reactions of rock chemistry and also from the fossil carbon sources. Carbon is being emitted from the melting permafrost soils as methane and carbon dioxide. All aforesaid sources are ancient carbon some of which originates since the birth of our planet billions of years ago and others from the ancient fossil carbon sources before the Ice Ages. This type of carbon is pure carbon-12 and its skews the readings of carbon-14 taken from plants, animals, and humans. It is here posited that in the past during the period from the Last Glacial Maximum (Sea Level Drop Maximum | Methane Clathrate Disintegration Maximum) to Holocene Thermal Maximum/Optimum (Permafrost Melting Maximum). These processes caused the suppression of carbon-14 levels that occurred even grander scales than today due to above said processes. Implications on climate change and radiocarbon dating of objects from North and East Asia are considered from the present observations of ancient carbon entering to the airmass rolling over the northern Eurasian landmass.

Following some queries, I am enclosing a further link below to the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service. It is important to keep in mind that not all methane in emissions are equal when it comes to carbon-12 distortion. It is notable to keep in mind that the vast emission from Asia's rice fields do not matter in this regard because that methane is made by the living organisms that take their carbon dioxide from the atmosphere whereas the permafrost and the sea bed emissions of the Arctic is a "new methane" source - as the ancient cryosphere melts. The link to The Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service website: https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/charts/cams/methane-forecasts?facets=undefined&time=2021080400,3,2021080403&projection=classical_global&layer_name=composition_ch4_totalcolumn

This article examines theories of ocean rights based on the works of Hugo Grotius and Samuel von Pufendorf. Grotius's object-centred view uses features of the natural world to justify claims to external objects. I show that Grotius's view is inadequate, because it relies on an outdated claim that oceanic resources are sufficiently abundant for anybody to use. Further , adaptations of his view are wanting, because they either rely on arbitrary distinctions or disregard the values of cultural minorities. Pufendorf's relational view constructs rights through the exercise of human will. The relational view is a viable alternative to the object-centred view, because it both delimits territorial claims over the ocean to a 'modest' size and also respects cultural variability. A major aim of this article is to present Pufendorf's theory of territorial rights extended over oceans and to demonstrate how it is useful for assessing contemporary disputes. In the final sections, I apply the relational view to Canadian claims to the Northwest Passage, and I also sketch implications for assessing expanding claims to the seabed.

The detailed mineralogical and microgeochemical characteristics of polymetallic nodules collected from the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM, Szczecin, Poland) claim area, Eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ, Eastern Pacific) were described in this study. The obtained data were applied for the delimitation of nodule growth generations and estimation of the growth ratios (back-stripping using the Co-chronometer method). The applied methods included bulk X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), providing information about Mn-Fe minerals and clays composing nodules, as well as the geochemical zonation of the growth generations. The analyzed nodules were mostly diagenetic (Mn/Fe &gt; 5), with less influence on the hydrogenous processes, dominated by the presence of 10-Å phyllomanganates represented by todorokite/buserite, additionally mixed with birnessite and vernadite. The specific lithotype (intranodulith), being an integral part of pol...

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Considering the fact that its existence is abundant while maintaining the ability to generate freshwater while burning, methane hydrates have been classified as sources of sustainable energy. China currently maintains an international role in developing technology meant to explore offshore methane hydrates buried under the mud of the seabed, their primary laboratory being the South China Sea. However, such a process does not come without its hazards and fatal consequences, ranging from the destruction of the flora and fauna, the general environment, and—the greatest hazard of all—the cost of human life. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter ‘UNCLOS’), being an important international legal regime and instrument, has assigned damage control during the exploration of methane hydrates, as being the responsibilities and liability of individual sovereign states and corporations. China adopted the Deep Seabed Mining Law (hereinafter the DSM Law) on 26 February 2016, which came into force on the 1 of May 2016; a regulation providing the legal framework also for the Chinese government’s role in methane hydrate exploratory activities. This article examines the role of the DSM Law and its provisions, as well as several international documents intended to prevent transboundary environmental harm from arising, as a result of offshore methane hydrate extraction. Despite the obvious risk of harm to the environment, the DSM Law has made great strides in regulating exploratory activities so as to meet the criteria of the UNCLOS. However, this article argues that neither the UNCLOS nor the DSM Law are adequately prepared to address transboundary harm triggered by the exploitation of offshore methane hydrates. In particular, the technology of such extraction is still at an experimental stage, and potential risks remain uncertain—and even untraceable—for cross-jurisdictional claims. The article intends to seek available legal instruments or models, to overhaul the incapacity within the current governing framework, and offers suggestions supporting national and international legislative efforts towards protecting the environment during methane hydrate extraction.

Keywords: Methane Hydrate; Environmental Protection; China; Offshore; Natural Resources Management; Sustainable Development, International Law, Law of the Sea, Ocean, United Nations, UNCLOS, Seabed, Damage, Liability, Harm, Deep Seabed Mining Law, Governance, Transboundary, Technology, South China Sea

The centrality of extractive industry to Australian political and economic history is well known.  Extractive interests have long occupied a dominant position in the Australian policy landscape, and the prioritisation of extractive interests in Commonwealth policy has been a perennial theme of political debate at both state and federal levels. This chapter revisits the prioritisation of extractive interests in Australia’s carriage of international treaty negotiations, with a focus on Australia’s position on resource exploitation in the Antarctic, the international seabed, and outer space between 1958 and 1991. The chapter argues that the Commonwealth’s foundational objective across all three treaty frameworks was to secure and expand the field of sovereign resource rights, and its rights to grant and profit from extractive interests. The chapter concludes that this history not only tempers contemporary popular narratives that figure Australia as a ‘good international citizen’ with respect to Antarctica, the seabed and space; it has predictive value with respect to Australia’s likely conduct as the treaty regimes governing all three domains come under renewed strain.

In 2017 the Japanese government reported that its state-owned mining company had successfully extracted zinc from the seabed off the coast of Okinawa. This piloting of technology is currently the world's only example of large-scale extractive activity operating at such depths. Alongside Japan's innovations, the global deep sea mining (DSM) industry is moving towards commercial viability. This paper draws upon critical theoretical perspectives to better understand the complex debates being provoked. While there has been an increasing range of scholarship focusing on DSM from both the natural and social sciences, this paper cautions that the social sciences are not merely tools for assessing public and stakeholder acceptability. They require and deserve a central role in defining the purpose, nature and scope of commercial DSM. This paper therefore develops an approach that seeks to diversify and broaden engagements with DSM and that is well-placed to navigate the political questions that emerge from mining on the seabed. These perspectives also enable us to interrogate claims that DSM offers greater ‘sustainability’ than terrestrial mining does. This paper's interdisciplinary approach draws on empirical reference to, and examples from, the Japanese context, highlighting four main areas of concern for DSM: geography, geopolitics, law and political economy. These areas of critical enquiry reveal DSM's complexities and caution against perceiving DSM as a singular phenomenon. The emergent complex and multi-scalar questions from seabed mining therefore require a more holistic approach. Mining the seabed produces, and is underpinned by, a multitude of social, cultural and political dimensions and the potential consequences of DSM will not be experienced evenly. As this paper demonstrates, DSM is an interdisciplinary issue. The confines of disciplinary norms must therefore be exceeded to facilitate a deeper understanding of both the practices of DSM and their consequences.

Work described here assessed the feasibility of using variations in
tissue thickness in massive Porites corals as a bioindicator for mine-related sediment
stress. We examined parameters influencing coral tissue thickness, including water
depth, location, season, and time period within the lunar month. Coral tissue
thickness was observed to grow linearly over the lunar cycle until it dropped abruptly
by about 20% after the day of the full moon. Although some relationship was
observed between tissue thickness reduction and turbidity, no systematic relationship
was found between turbidity zones and light levels. The aim was to develop sampling
protocols that minimized the effect of natural variability and maximized the potential
use of tissue thickness by mine management as a cheap, reliable, real-time indicator of
coral stress response to increased turbidity on Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea. This
method could prove particularly useful at remote locations or where a fast assessment
of coral stress response (< 1 month) needs to be made.

The rapidly increasing global populations and socio-economic development in the Global South have resulted in rising demand for natural resources. There are many plans for harvesting natural resources from the ocean floor, especially rare metals and minerals. However, if proper care is not taken, there is substantial potential for long-lasting and even irreversible physical and environmental impacts on the deep-sea ecosystems, including on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the literature on some potentials and risks to deep seabed mining (DSM), outlining its legal aspects and environmental impacts. It presents two case studies that describe the environmental risks related to this exploitative process. They include significant disturbance of the seabed, light and noise pollution, the creation of plumes, and negative impacts on the surface, benthic, and meso- and bathypelagic zones. The study suggests some of the issues interested companies should consider in ...

The application of thermal methods, such as Rock−Eval 6 pyrolysis or differential thermal analysis, provides complex information about sediment and rock properties, including thermal behaviour, degree of maturity, alteration of organic matter, and high temperature combustion synthesis mineral products. In this study, thermal methods included experiments on the thermokinetics of modern deep-sea sediments of the Northeast Pacific Basin. For experimental the procedure, twelve samples of siliceous clayey silts collected from the Clarion−Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ), Interoceanmetal claim area, were analysed. CCFZ is highly prospective as a giant marine polymetallic deposit which contains several economically valuable metals, such as Ni, Cu, or Co. Hydrocarbon potential, thermal maturity, and roasting products were investigated. Mineralogical characteristics of thermal products were investigated. The obtained results of thermal experiments were compared with sedimentological, mineralo...

The detailed mineralogical and microgeochemical characteristics of polymetallic nodules collected from the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM, Szczecin, Poland) claim area, Eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ, Eastern Pacific) were described in this study. The obtained data were applied for the delimitation of nodule growth generations and estimation of the growth ratios (back-stripping using the Co-chronometer method). The applied methods included bulk X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), providing information about Mn-Fe minerals and clays composing nodules, as well as the geochemical zonation of the growth generations. The analyzed nodules were mostly diagenetic (Mn/Fe &gt; 5), with less influence on the hydrogenous processes, dominated by the presence of 10-Å phyllomanganates represented by todorokite/buserite, additionally mixed with birnessite and vernadite. The specific lithotype (intranodulith), being an integral part of pol...

The detailed mineralogical and microgeochemical characteristics of polymetallic nodules collected from the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) claim area, Eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ, Eastern Pacific) were described in this study. The obtained data were applied for the delimitation of nodule growth generations and estimation of the growth ratios (back-stripping using the Co-chronometer method). The applied methods included bulk X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), providing information about Mn-Fe minerals and clays composing nodules, as well as the geochemical zonation of the growth generations. The analyzed nodules were mostly diagenetic (Mn/Fe > 5), with less influence on the hydrogenous processes, dominated by the presence of 10-Å phyllomanganates represented by todorokite/buserite, additionally mixed with birnessite and vernadite. The specific lithotype (intranodulith), being an integral part of polymetallic nodules, developed as a result of the secondary diagenetic processes of lithification and the cementation of Fe-rich clays (potentially nontronite and Fe-rich smectite), barite, zeolites (Na-phillipsite), bioapatite, biogenic remnants, and detrital material, occurs in holes, microcaverns, and open fractures in between ore colloforms. The contents of ∑(Ni, Cu, and Co) varied from 1.54 to 3.06 wt %. Several remnants of siliceous microorganisms (radiolarians and diatoms) were found to form pseudomorphs. The applied Co-chronometer method indicated that the nodules' age is mainly Middle Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene, and the growth rates are typical of diagenetic and mixed hydrogenetic-diagenetic (HD) processes. Additionally, few nodules showed suboxic conditions of nucleation. Growth processes in the eastern part of the CCFZ deposit might have been induced with the Plio-Pleistocene changes in the paleooceanographic conditions related to the deglaciation of the Northern Hemisphere.