China and new seabed mining regulations

According to reports from USNI News, technological and scientific development in the field of extraction of raw materials from the seabed is gaining momentum, with China playing a key role here. It is this country, according to Michael Lodge, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Bottom Organisation (ISA), that makes an important contribution to creating new regulations in this area.

China, as the largest ISA donor, has a decisive influence on the development of rules on the exploitation of offshore wealth. The importance of this country is also stressed by the fact that since 2001 ISA has been issuing contracts for the exploration and operation of polymetallic concretions, sulphides and ferromanganese shells rich in cobalt. The latter play a key role in the development of battery technologies used in electric vehicles and wind turbine magnets.

Lodge points out that China is particularly active in extracting the seabed, which is important for the global economy, especially in the context of switching to renewable energy sources. It also predicts that the demand for these minerals will be enormous and measurable.

It also stresses that the legislation will affect not only coastal countries but also small island Pacific countries, which will participate in funds collected under the new regulations. The Lodge indicates that some of these measures could be earmarked for sustainable development and the development of competences.

At the same time, the ISA Secretary stresses the importance of technological progress in remote-controlled vehicles and unmanned autonomous vehicles for the mapping of sea depths. Thanks to them, it is possible to extract polymetallic nodules without negative environmental impacts.

An interesting aspect is the attitude of the United States, which, without ratifying the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, have only observer status. The Lodge stresses that the United States will not be able to act as sponsor state in developing new regulations.

In terms of environmental protection, Lodge cites an example of oil and gas extraction from the seabed as evidence that standards can be quickly raised through new technologies. All the mapping data that ISA receives are made available to Seabed 2030's non-profit organization, which cooperates with the Nippon Foundation and GECBO (General Bathhymetric Chart of the Oceans), aiming to complete seabed mapping by the beginning of the next decade.

In this context, Lodge points out the importance of comprehensive seabed mapping and the need to consider seabed and land as a whole. The last issue he points out is the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate the analysis processes and scale the collected data.

Written by Mariusz Dasiewicz/USNI News