KINGSTON, JAMAICA, 13 July 2012 – – The adoption of draft Regulations on prospecting and exploration for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts; consideration of five new applications for approval of plans of work for exploration and election of 20 members of Council and of the Secretary-General are among substantive issues for consideration on the agenda of the International Seabed Authority when it convenes its 18th Session in Kingston, Jamaica from 16-27 July 2012.
Other agenda items include the budget of the Authority for the financial period 2013 to 2014, contributions to the voluntary trust fund, proposed revisions to the Nodules Regulations adopted in 2000, and a plan for the formulation of the exploitation code for polymetallic nodules in the Area.
There will also be a Special Session, on 24 July 2012, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the opening for signature (on 10 December 1982 in Montego Bay, Jamaica) of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The session will include statements by distinguished participants in the Third Conference, the Preparatory Commission for the International Seabed Authority and for International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the United Nations and the Authority. The Government of Jamaica will also unveil a scroll commemorating the event on 21 July 2012.