KINGSTON, JAMAICA – The International Seabed Authority today announced a contribution of US$20,000 to the ISA Voluntary Trust Fund.

ISA Secretary-General, Mr. Nii Allotey Odunton, accepted the donation, which was made on behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of China by His Excellency Mr. Chen Jinghua, Permanent Representative to the ISA and Ambassador to Jamaica.

KINGSTON, JAMAICA - In his first address to the General Assembly since being elected ISA Secretary-General, Mr. Nii Allotey Odunton spoke about matters relating to Oceans and the Law of the Sea . He said he felt extremely privileged to have been invested with the responsibility for guiding the work of the Authority over the next four years.

In a bid to further strengthen the existing cooperation  with the International Seabed Authority, China has granted funding to support five candidates to pursue Masters or Doctorate degrees in Marine Science at the Tongji University.

The workshop on the finalization of the Geological Model of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone is scheduled for 14-17 December at the Authority's headquarters in Kingston.

Experts from academic institutions, public and private enterprises, contractors and member states are expected to attend.

The Geological Model will provide scientific information to prospectors on possible indicators for exploration of potential areas for polymetallic nodules in the future and assist in understanding nodule occurrences and distribution.

Experts attending the final review meeting of the geological model have agreed on a schedule of corrections/modifications to the model and the Prospector's Guide to be completed by the end of October 2009.

Scientific experts began a 3-day final review meeting at ISA Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica from 7-9 September to review the Geological Model of polymetallic nodule deposit formation in the Clarion Clipperton Region. 

The ISA Endowment Fund has awarded Ms Alejandra Mariana Rocha of Argentina, Mr Olubunmi Nubi of Nigeria and Mr Niroshana Wickramaarachchi of Sri Lanka, fellowships under its Technical Assistance Program-Marine Scientific Research (TAP-MAR) to participate in a course being offered by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa, India. 

At the recent 19th Meeting of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Secretary-General of the Seabed Authority, Nii A Odunton reported on the important elements of the work of the Authority over the past months.

Mr Odunton outlined the outcomes of the Authority's 15th Session and reported on three main activities:

The International Seabed Authority wound up its fifteenth annual session in Kingston 5 June after nearly two weeks of intensive negotiations without finalizing a text on a set of regulations that would govern the exploration of polymetallic sulphides in deep oceans beyond national jurisdiction.

The Secretariat presented a review of outstanding issues concerning the draft regulations on prospecting and exploration for polymetallic sulphides in the Area (ISBA/15/C/WP.2). This 25-paragraph working paper, with three annexes, covers additional background on the outstanding issues with respect to the draft, which the Council had agreed to consider at this session. A revised text of the entire draft regulations (ISBA/15/C/WP.1), harmonized in all official languages, and incorporating the revisions, was also presented to Council.

The International Seabed Authority began its fifteenth session in Kingston this afternoon with the election of the presidents of its two top bodies – the Assembly and Council – and the adoption of their agendas for the annual gathering scheduled to conclude on 5 June.

The new President of the 157-member Assembly, nominated by Chile on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, is Mr Mario José Pino of Argentina. Mr Pino is his country’s ambassador to Jamaica and Permanent Representative to the Authority.

The International Seabed Authority will attempt to resolve all outstanding issues in the draft regulatory regimes for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the deep seabed with the aim of adopting the texts at its fifteenth session in Kingston, Jamaica from 25 May to 5 June 2009.

The International Seabed Authority will attempt to resolve all outstanding issues in the draft regulatory regimes for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the deep seabed with the aim of adopting the texts at its fifteenth session in Kingston, Jamaica from 25 May to 5 June 2009.

The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)  and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) today launched the Technical Assistance Program for Marine Scientific Research (TAP-MAR) for qualified professionals,

TAP-MAR is being funded by the ISA’s Endowment Fund for selected applicants to participate in a course offered by NIO at its headquarters in Dona Paula, Goa, India with tentative program dates from 25 October – 19 December 2009.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) recently announced its capacity-building and training programme on dispute settlement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“The Convention”) for 2009-2010.

The programme which runs from 1 July 2009 to 31 March 2010 will offer places for 5 participants to  participate in lectures on current issues of the law of the sea; case studies and training in negotiation, mediation and delimitation of maritime areas and also include study visits to organizations dealing with law of the sea matters.