On 19 April 2013, Ocean Mineral Singapore Pte. Ltd., a company sponsored by the Government of Singapore, submitted an application for approval of a plan of work for exploration for polymetallic nodules in a reserved area.
The area under application is the reserved area portion of the UK Seabed Resources Ltd claim area in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the Pacific Ocean approved in July 2012.
The members of the Legal and Technical Commission will be notified of the submission of the above application, which will be placed on the agenda of the Commission at its next meeting, which is scheduled to commence on 8 July 2013. It is noted that the application covers an area which is also included in a proposal for a joint venture operation with the Enterprise as contained in the report of the Interim Director-General of the Enterprise (ISBA/19/C/4) and which is due for consideration by the Council at the nineteenth session. In placing the present application on the agenda of the Legal and Technical Commission, neither the Secretary-General nor the secretariat takes any position with respect to that proposal and it is understood that consideration of the application by the Legal and Technical Commission would be without prejudice to any decision taken by the Council with respect either to the proposal for a joint venture operation with the Enterprise or to the availability of any of the reserved areas covered by that proposal.
[mappress] Press Release, April 29, 2013; Image: Ocean Flore