US EditionTrump's Drive for Ocean Bed Mining Threatens Law of the Sea
- In April 2025, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to speed up the approval process for seabed mining permits both within US jurisdiction and on the high seas, referencing a little-known law from 1980.
- This move follows longstanding US nonratification of the 1994 UNCLOS treaty, which governs ocean law and aims to prevent a scramble for sovereign ocean territory.
- The Metals Company, a Canadian firm, applied to mine commercially on the high seas through the US, bypassing the International Seabed Authority, prompting international concerns.
- Experts warn this unilateral action risks destabilizing global ocean governance, with ISA secretary general Leticia Carvalho calling it a 'dangerous precedent' threatening customary law.
- The US and Canadian steps could provoke competing sovereignty claims and undermine the legal framework designed to keep seabed minerals as humanity's common heritage.
52 Articles
52 Articles
Trump tells UK to get rid of unsightly windmills and open North Sea to modern drilling
President Donald Trump on Truth Social has strongly criticized UK’s energy policy of pursuing renewables and further taxing North Sea oil and gas operators. In a piece published in OilPrice he suggests getting rid of “costly and unsightly windmills”.
News24 | Trump’s order on deep-sea mining ‘could lead to the disintegration’ of maritime law
US President Donald Trump’s move to sidestep global regulations and begin pushing for seabed mining in international waters could pose a wider threat of competing countries claiming sovereignty over the ocean, experts say.
Editorial: Wrong to degrade marine monument | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) was established by President George W. Bush in 2009, protecting an area surrounding Wake, Baker, Howland and Jarvis islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll, to the south and west of Hawaii. In doing so, the Republican president recognized its irreplaceable and unmatchable nature.
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