Seabed Mining

Seabed mining brings both exciting opportunities and complex legal issues. McInnes Cooper has the experience and the knowledge to help you navigate the laws regulating this emerging industry.

By retaining McInnes Cooper to guide your dealings with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), you are choosing a team of lawyers with an intimate understanding of the ISA’s current functioning and its future direction. We were a member of the team commissioned by the ISA to review its past operations and to make recommendations for its future operations under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 154. The ISA asked McInnes Cooper to author A Study of Key Terms in Article 82 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (ISA Technical Study No. 15). The ISA has published this report to assist in the interpretation of Article 82, which imposes an obligation on coastal states that produce resources from the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles to make payments or contributions in kind through the ISA to States Parties.

Our extensive experience with onshore and offshore resource exploitation projects and the ISA makes McInnes Cooper well positioned to provide you with comprehensive advice to ensure investments in seabed mining have the best prospects for success.