News

New Delhi – 2 February 2023. The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, and the Secretary at the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) of India, Dr. Muthalagu Ravichandran, signed a five-year contract extension agreement for the exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin yesterday in the presence of the Honourable Minister of Earth Sciences of the Government of India, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

New Delhi, 31 January 2023 - The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge and the Director General of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, signed a letter of cooperation during a ceremony held at the Office of RIS in New Delhi yesterday. The letter of cooperation formalizes a new strategic partnership to facilitate joint activities between the two organizations.

New Delhi, 30 January 2023 - The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge and the Director General of the National Maritime Foundation of India (NMF), Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, signed a letter of cooperation during a ceremony held at the Office of the Indian Navy in New Delhi today.

On 26 January 2023, during an official visit to Belgium, the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, met with Belgium’s Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and the North Sea, H. E. Mr. Vincent Van Quickenborne, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions, H.E. Ms. Hadja Lahbib.

Ambassador Jan Hendrik van Thiel presented his credentials to the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, as the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to ISA during a special ceremony held on 20 January 2023 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Ambassador van Thiel is the Permanent Representative of Germany to Jamaica. A career diplomat, Mr. van Thiel joined the German Diplomatic Service in 1996. He holds a law degree and a Diploma from the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, France.

The Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is accepting proposals for a consultant or individual contractor to prepare report on the implementation of the Strategic Plan of the Authority for the period 2019-2013. This report will inform the work and consultations to be undertaken by the Secretariat for the review of the Strategic Plan and the High-Level Action Plan for the Authority for the next period with the aim to present a revised version for consideration and adoption by the Assembly in 2023.

The Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is accepting proposals for a consultant or individual contractor to prepare a detailed proposal for the establishment of a Seabed Sustainability Fund for consideration by the Finance Committee in 2023.

The Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is accepting proposals for consultancy services to support its growing need for quality innovative information products.

Applicants should have the requisite experience and expertise in data science, statistical analysis and visualization, or related technical field. The successful candidate will provide technical and creative support to the Communications Unit and produce data visualization, infographics, data animation, interactive maps and other visualization products of the Area, its resources and seabed activities.

The Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is accepting proposals for consultancy services to prepare a draft action plan for establishing strategic partnerships with philanthropies to support ISA’s mandate.

Applicants should have the requisite experience in: (i) the work of philanthropic organizations working on the ocean agenda; (ii) experience in work with international organisations and global agendas; (iii) experience in partnerships and resource mobilization with the private sector, including philanthropies.

Applications are now open for three (3) internship opportunities for candidates from developing States, Members of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The placements are provided by the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) in accordance with its obligations under its contracts for exploration for polymetallic sulphides (PMS) with ISA.

The three internship opportunities are divided as follows:

Applications are now open for four (4) at-sea and post cruise training opportunities for candidates from developing States, Members of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The placements are provided by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of the Federal Republic of Germany (BGR), in accordance with its obligations under its contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules (PMN) with ISA.

Two (2) placements will be geology based whilst the other two (2) will focus on biology. The training will be comprised of two parts:

The Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is accepting proposals for interpretation and conference services for the meetings of its 28^th session in 2023. The requested services include simultaneous interpretation (on-site or remotely) in the six official languages of the United Nations, virtual conference services, internet-based live broadcasting (Web TV), live additional video displays and recording of the meetings.

Applications are now open for two (2) training opportunities for candidates from developing States, Members of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The placements are provided by the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) in accordance with its obligations under its contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules (PMN) with ISA.

The two training programmes are divided as follows:

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is calling for the nomination of experts and for the submission of scientific information to support the objectives of the upcoming workshop on the development of a regional environmental management plan (REMP) for the Area of the Indian Ocean, with a focus on the Mid-Ocean Ridges and Central Indian Ocean Basin. The workshop will be organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the National Institute of Ocean Technology of India and will take place from 1 to 5 May 2023, in Chennai, India.

The workshop aims to:

From 12 to 16 December 2022, the Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) participated in the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-15, Part 2) held in Montreal, Canada. This was the opportunity to engage at different levels in the discussions pertaining to the adoption of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and ensure complementarity with other international processes.