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The United Kingdom government is pressuring a local buyer to undertake the exploration licenses of deep -sea mines that sponsors in the Pacific Ocean as it seeks to progress to the global race for valuable sea metals.
Norwegian Marine Minerals, which owns the resources of the License Kingdom in the United Kingdom, presented for bankruptcy earlier this month after they tried to collect capital. This began an auction process for two government -supported exploration permits in the UK.
The transfer of licenses can be reviewed by the UK National Security Investment Law, a Department of Business and Trade officials wrote earlier this month in an email, first from Financial Times, for the chief executive of Loke Walter Sognnes.
Having a Norwegian parent company for UKSR would be “problematic,” the official said, adding: “We would strongly suggest that you investigate restructuring as a company that holds in the United Kingdom as a priority.”
The act gives the government’s powers to review and interfere with business transactions to protect national security. The UK Business and Trade Department refused to comment.
Loe said the ownership structure was a matter of discussion by the “new UKSR owner” and the United Kingdom Government.
Mass is the last sign of the renewable interest in the battery metal competition, including nickel, cobalt and copper at sea, following signals by US President Trump in recent weeks he wants to follow the new industry quickly.
According to the current regulation, the exploration licenses of seawater to international waters must be supported or sponsored by states that have ratified the UN Convention on Sea.
This is intended to ensure that companies, which are not directly related to the treaty, still support high standards.
China is expected to prevail the sea sector, as it sponsors more exploration licenses in international waters than any other country. But Norway has described plans to become the first country in the world to develop deep sea mines on a trade scale in its national waters.
In contrast, countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany have been defending their bets for the future of sea exploration as they try to balance the environment with efforts to strengthen Europe’s critical supply chains.
They are among the countries that sponsor contracts allocated by regulator De facto, the international sea authority based in Jamaica, for the exploration of the sea lies under international waters, including in the Pacific Ocean.
At the same time, nations argue that little is known about the effects of mining on the deep sea flora and the fauna to move forward.
Even while the geopolitical interest in sea metals increases, the industry has struggled to attract capital, with large miners who do not want to sign agreements for excess metals including nickel.
There is also uncertainty about the regulatory attitude of the industry and where sea metals will be processed.
Isa last year told the Loke’s chief executive that UKSR was “at risk of disrespect” with its exploration contracts, according to the correspondence seen by FT. UKSR was sold by American defense contractor Lockheed Martin in Loke in 2023.
The entity has also fallen behind in its license fees, according to people familiar with the issue.
“We could not raise capital and then we were finishing money,” said a person near Loe, blaming the long discussion of ISA member states for the future of the industry for the company that falls behind in its plans to conduct research in future mines.
“It takes two in tango … No international regulation has taken more time to get in place than this.”
The Greenpeace Campaign Group received correspondence from Isa and the United Kingdom Government when it recently auctioned to offer the two UK licenses, in a stunt designed to stop the deep sea commercial mines to move forward.
The non-profit was informed that other bidders included the founders of LOE and the UK on the UK Technipfmc, which invested in LORE. Technipfmc did not respond to a comment request.
Contractors involved in the sponsoring country but are effectively controlled by a parent company abroad, make a “mockery” of the legal framework that regulates access to the sea, said Duncan Currie, a lawyer in the deep sea conservation coalition.
Additional reporting by Camilla Hodgson
