{"id":76430,"date":"2026-03-09T14:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/?p=76430"},"modified":"2026-03-09T14:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:18:23","slug":"new-greenpeace-international-evidence-reveals-breaches-by-deep-sea-mining-contractors-governments-must-defend-international-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/new-greenpeace-international-evidence-reveals-breaches-by-deep-sea-mining-contractors-governments-must-defend-international-law\/","title":{"rendered":"New Greenpeace International evidence reveals breaches by deep sea mining contractors: Governments must defend international law\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Stop
Greenpeace USA activists unfurl a banner calling on the US government to Stop Deep Sea Mining in front of Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City.
\u00a9 Stephanie Keith \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Kingston, Jamaica (March 9, 2026)\u2014<\/strong>As governments gather this week for the latest Council session of the International Seabed Authority<\/a> (ISA), evidence submitted by Greenpeace International<\/a> raises questions about whether The Metals Company (TMC), its subsidiaries, and subcontractors may have breached the regulator\u2019s exploration contracts. The developments come as governments continue negotiating rules that would govern commercial mining of the international seabed, while industry pressure to begin extraction grows.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace International is urging member states to investigate the allegations and take firm and swift action if breaches are confirmed. <\/p>\n\n

Arlo Hemphill, Greenpeace USA Oceans Are Life Campaign Lead, said: <\/strong>\u201cIf the ISA\u2019s rules mean anything, member states must ensure they are enforced. Deep sea mining threatens one of the planet\u2019s most important and fragile ecosystems with large-scale and irreversible destruction. Governments should be strengthening ocean protections, not opening the door to a free-for-all on a system already under pressure or giving companies with unresolved compliance questions a greenlight to mine.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

The ISA opened an inquiry at its last Council meeting in July 2025 after TMC USA sought unilateral deep sea mining licences from the Trump administration under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA), raising concerns about efforts to pursue mining in international waters outside the ISA framework. TMC USA has also recently filed the first consolidated deep sea mining application under a newly streamlined U.S. permitting process created under the same law. <\/p>\n\n

Many legal scholars argue that such U.S. actions would conflict with international law and could place companies that take this approach in breach of existing exploration licenses issued by the regulator, which operates under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/a> (UNCLOS). Under the treaty, seabed minerals in international waters are considered the \u201ccommon heritage of humankind.”<\/p>\n\n

Evidence submitted by Greenpeace International to the ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho, in support of the body\u2019s ongoing inquiry into deep sea mining contractors, focuses on TMC\u2019s subsidiaries\u2014Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) and Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. (TOML)\u2014as well as Blue Minerals Jamaica (BMJ), a company linked to Dutch-Swiss offshore engineering firm Allseas, one of TMC\u2019s subcontractors and largest shareholders. The submission argues that the cohort\u2019s activities, taken together, may violate core contractual obligations under UNCLOS. <\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace International has urged the ISA to consider taking action, including not renewing the exploration contracts of NORI and TOML, which expire in July 2026 and January 2027, respectively, if these claimed breaches are confirmed.<\/p>\n\n

Louisa Casson, Campaigner, Greenpeace International, said:<\/strong> \u201cIn July, governments at the ISA sent a clear message: rogue companies trying to sidestep international law will face consequences. Turning that promise into action at this meeting is far more important than rushing through a mining code designed to appease corporate interests rather than protect the common good. As delegations from around the world gather today, they must unite and confront the U.S. and TMC’s neo-colonial resource grab and make clear that deep sea mining is a reckless gamble humanity cannot afford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The Greenpeace International <\/strong>analysis<\/strong><\/a> found that:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n