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Eastern Pacific, March 26, 2023 – Activists from Greenpeace International stood peacefully opposite the British research ship James Cook in the waters of the eastern Pacific as it returned from a seven-week expedition into a stretch of the Pacific Ocean destined for deep-sea mining. An activist climbed the side of the moving vessel to unfurl a banner reading "Say No to Deep Sea Mining" while two Indigenous Māori activists swam in front of the RRS James Cook, one with the Māori flag and the other with one Flag with the inscription "Don Mine not the Moiana". [1]
“As political tensions flare over whether to allow deep-sea mining, commercial interests at sea are pushing ahead as if it were a done deal. As if sending a ship wasn't offensive enough to allow the continued destruction of our ecosystems, it is a cruel insult to send one named after the Pacific's most notorious colonist. For too long the peoples of the Pacific have been excluded from decisions affecting our territories and waters. Unless governments stop this industry from taking off, the darkest days of history will repeat themselves. We reject a future with deep-sea mining", said James Hita, Māori activist and Pacific leader of Greenpeace International's deep-sea mining campaign.
Delegates from world governments are currently gathered at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica to discuss whether this destructive industry could get the green light this year [2]. Meanwhile, deep-sea mining company UK Seabed Resources is using RRS James Cook's expedition – financed with public money from the UK – to take further steps to start mining tests before negotiations can be completed [3].
The RRS James Cook expedition, known as Smartex (Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental Impact) [3], is managed in the UK by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with partners including the Natural History Museum, British Geological Survey and JNCC and a A number of British universities are publicly funded. The UK sponsors some of the largest areas for deep sea mining exploration, 133.000 km covered of the Pacific Ocean.
More than 700 scientists from 44 countries have already prevailed against the industry signing An open letter that calls for pause. “Marine ecosystems and biodiversity are declining and now is not the right time to start industrial exploitation of the deep sea. A moratorium is needed to give us time to fully understand the potential impact of deep-sea mining in order to make a decision on whether to proceed. Personally, I have lost confidence in the ISA's current management to make this decision and it is very clear that a few people, driven by economic interests, have distorted a process that should represent the interests of all humanity.” said Alex Rogers, Professor of Biology at Oxford University and Director of Science at REV Ocean.
The Smartex expedition visited one of these exploration-licensed areas and returned to the sites where early test mining took place in 1979 to monitor the long-term effects of the mining. Greenpeace International is requesting that all data on the impact of seabed mining on the ecosystem 44 years ago be made available to inform governments in the debate at the ongoing ISA meeting.
Deep sea mining company UK Seabed Resources is a Smartex project partner and its former parent company's website states that this expedition "the next phase of its exploration program” – making it a necessary step towards the Company's planned mining tests later this year [4] [5].
This is not the first time that concerns have been raised at ISA meetings about distinguishing between research aimed at improving human understanding of the deep sea and exploration activities for deep sea mining. A Letter signed by 29 deep-sea scientistspresented at a previous ISA meeting, stated: “The international seabed belongs to all of us. We recognize the privilege and responsibility of studying deep sea systems for the benefit of human knowledge. Scientific research to understand how deep-sea ecosystems function and support vital processes is distinct from activities undertaken under exploration contracts granted by the International Seabed Authority.”
Negotiations at the ISA meeting last until March 31st. Diplomats from last week accused the head of the ISA, Michael Lodge, of having lost the impartiality required by his position And Interference in government decision-making at the ISA speed up mining.
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Photos and videos available HERE
Notes
[1] For Pacific peoples, particularly in Te Ao Māori mythologies, Moana encompasses the seas from shallow rocky pools to the deepest depths of the high seas. Moiana is the ocean. And in doing so, it speaks to the intrinsic relationship that all Pacific peoples have with the Moana.
[2] 31 contracts to explore the viability of deep-sea mining, covering over one million square kilometers of international seabed, have been awarded by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Rich nations dominate deep sea mining development and sponsor 18 of the 31 exploration licenses. China holds another 5 contracts, meaning only a quarter of exploration contracts are held by developing countries. No African nation sponsors deep sea mineral exploration and only Cuba from the Latin American region partially sponsors a license as part of a consortium with 5 European nations.
[3] This expedition is part of the exploration program of the British deep sea mining company, according to the company's website, with the Company 2020 summary environmental report Details of UK Seabed Resources' involvement in Smartex from inception and reference to the company's "significant commitment" to the project. The Company's desire to move from exploration to exploitation is reflected in the UK Seabed Resources report public demands for governments to allow deep-sea mining as soon as possible. Two employees of UK Seabed Resources, including its Director Christopher Willams, are listed as part of the Smartex project team. These representatives of the mining companies have also attended the negotiations of the International Seabed Authority as part of the UK Government delegation (Steve Persall in 2018Christopher Williams several times, however last in November 2022). This expedition paves the way for the British deep-sea mining company to test mining equipment later in 2023 planned follow-up expedition in 2024 after the mining tests
[4] UKSR described its recent change of ownership as part of the transition from exploration activities "to a credible path of exploitation," although the decision to open the ocean to mining rests with governments. Loke, the Norwegian company buying UKSR, described the move as "a natural continuation of the existing strong strategic cooperation between the UK and Norway in the offshore oil and gas industry".
[5] UKSR was, until recently, owned by the UK arm of US company Lockheed Martin. On March 16, Loke Marine Minerals announced the acquisition of UKSR. Loke chairman Hans Olav Hide said Reuters: “We have UK Government approval… Our aim is to start producing from 2030.”
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Photos: Greenpeace
