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U.S. Senators Push for UNCLOS Ratification as Members of Congress Call for ISA to Adopt Seafloor Mining Regulations
Led by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a bipartisan coalition re-introduced a resolution calling on the U.S. Senate to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of
About this update from Tmc The Metals Company Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Led by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a bipartisan coalition re-introduced a resolution calling on the U.S. Senate to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which details the rights and responsibilities of countries regarding the world’s oceans, including “the management of marine natural resources.”At the close of part III of the International Seabed Authority’s 28th session this month, twelve Members of Congress expressed support to the ISA for the adoption by 2025 “of regulations allowing for the collection of critical minerals from the international seabed area.”Members of Congress also wrote to the U.S. Department of Defense “urging fair consideration” of TMC subsidiary NORI’s application for a Defense Production Act grant to perform feasibility work regarding potential critical mineral processing facilities in Texas. NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or the “Company”), an explorer of the world’s largest estimated undeveloped source of critical battery metals, today commends an initiative by U.S. Senators for the country to ratify UNCLOS — which it signed in 1982 but has since failed to ratify — in part to assert a leadership role in the global effort to govern the high seas and shore up supply chains for the critical battery materials required for the energy transition. “The longer we sit out, the longer the rest of world will continue to set the agenda of maritime domain, from seabed mining to critical subsea infrastructure,” said Arctic Caucus Co-Chair Senator Murkowski in a press release. “It is time for America to not just join the world at the table, but to make sure we are helping to set the rules going forward.” At the close of part III of the ISA’s 28th session earlier this month, twelve members of congress, led by Rep Wesley Hunt (R-TX), wrote a letter to ISA Secretary-General, Michael Lodge, as well as Council President Juan José González Mijares and Assembly President Fanday Turay, in which they called upon the ISA to adopt rules, regulations and procedures to govern deep-sea nodule collection which, they note, offer “a safe and environmentally responsible means for meeting societal needs for advanced materials and energy storage technologies without the taint of forced labor, slavery, or child labor abuses.” TMC CEO & Chairman Gerard B...