Background on the Executive Order, Critical Minerals and Deep-Sea Mining

On April 24, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources”, aimed at promoting and accelerating the development and exploitation of offshore mineral resources for the extraction of critical minerals.

Traditionally, critical raw materials (CRMs) have been obtained through land-based mining, which is highly correlated to the systematic risk of the country of origin (e.g., trade conflicts, sanctions, tariffs, political unrest). Meanwhile, as discussed in our previous article on this issue, today the CRMs upstream supply chain is highly concentrated in few countries of origin. For example, China currently produces over 80% of the world’s rare earth elements, which are key components of batteries and catalytic converters. Similarly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo supplies about 70% of the global demand for cobalt.

CRMs, however, are also found in seabed mineral resources such as polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, polymetallic sulfides, heavy mineral sands, phosphorites, and other mineral-bearing materials located on the ocean floor. These may include nickel, manganese, copper, lithium, cobalt, etc. Such minerals are essential for various sectors and industries, including energy and renewable energy, defense infrastructure, technology hardware and manufacturing. 

The method of CRM extraction from seabed reserves is referred to as deep-sea mining (DSM). While DSM is not yet commercially operational, small-scale tests - primarily to assess equipment - have been successfully conducted. In general, mineral extraction in the deep sea usually involves a robotic collector vehicle tethered to a mining vessel. This vehicle gathers resources by vacuuming, plucking, or cutting and crushing mineral deposits.

The Executive Order aims to establish the U.S. as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration, development technologies, and mining; to diversify the upstream supply chain of CRMs away from land-based sources; and create opportunities for the commercialization of DSM in waters adjacent to the U.S., as well as foreign waters through collaboration and partnership with allies.

The Directives of the Executive Order

The Executive Order directs the involved federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as the U.S. Departments of State, Energy and the Interior, among others, to accomplish the following:

• Expedite DSM Permits: Accelerate the review and issuance of seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction, pursuant to the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (30 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).
• DSM Interest Report: Prepare a report identifying:
  •  Private sector interest and opportunities for exploration, mining, and environmental monitoring of seabed mineral resources in:
    • the United States Outer Continental Shelf (OCS),
    • areas beyond national jurisdiction, and
    • within the national jurisdictions of partner nations interested in collaborating with U.S. companies.
  • Opportunities to develop seabed mineral processing capacity in the U.S. or on U.S.-flagged vessels.
• Seabed Mapping Plan: Develop a plan to map priority seabed areas with abundant or accessible undersea mineral resources, prioritizing data collection and characterization in the U.S. OCS.
• OCS Permit Streamlining: Establish an expedited process for reviewing and approving prospecting permits and granting leases for exploration, development, and production of seabed minerals within the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
• International Engagement: Engage with key allies and partners to support exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental monitoring of seabed minerals in their national jurisdictions. This includes promoting scientific collaboration, identifying commercial opportunities for U.S. companies, and creating a prioritized list of partner countries.
• Benefit-Sharing Mechanism: Assess the feasibility of creating an international benefit-sharing mechanism for DSM and development in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
• National Defense Stockpile Assessment: Evaluate the feasibility and potential advantages or disadvantages of:
  • Using the National Defense Stockpile for physical or virtual storage of materials derived from seabed polymetallic nodules.
  • Entering into offtake agreements for such materials.
• Support Tools Identification: Identify policy, financial, or technical tools to support domestic and international seabed mineral resource exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental monitoring.

Vessel Owners Opportunities

DSM opens a new market for specialized ships. These operations need vessels that can explore, build subsea infrastructure, monitor the environment, and extract minerals. Shipowners experienced in offshore energy, subsea work, or cable-laying are already well-placed to meet this demand by owning and operating or leasing such vessels to private mining companies or government-backed programs, securing valuable long-term contracts.

Shipowners may benefit from the downstream transport of extracted minerals. These materials will most likely require shipment to onshore processing facilities. Dry bulk or multipurpose vessels can be deployed for such transport, enabling shipowners to enter into a potentially high-margin cargo market.

Additional upside exists in vessel retrofitting. Rather than commissioning newbuilds, owners may convert older bulkers, heavy-lift vessels, or cable-layers for DSM operations, enabling fast and cheaper market entry. 

Moreover, DSM projects require strong offshore logistics. Because mining sites are often far from land, there is a regular need to transport workers, equipment, and supplies. Shipowners can achieve steady cashflows by leasing offshore support vessels (OSVs), fuel barges, and crew boats - similar to the setup used in offshore oil and gas projects.

Last but not least, DSM is likely to strengthen ties between shipowners and stakeholders in the energy and minerals sectors, potentially leading to new opportunities for joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions.

Proponents

Several domestic and international metal market participants and shipping companies have welcomed the Executive Order, viewing it as a comprehensive and necessary measure to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks and reduce dependency on foreign sources.  The Metals Company (TMC), a Canadian DSM firm, publicly praised the Executive Order, stating that it “marks America’s return to leadership in deep seabed minerals.” TMC, which has been frustrated by regulatory delays at the United Nations’ International Seabed Authority (ISA), announced its intention to seek mining licenses and permits under U.S. law, thereby bypassing the slow-moving international approval process.

Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) also expressed support for the Executive Order, noting that it aligns with the company’s U.S. expansion strategy and strengthens efforts to establish rare earth processing capabilities within the United States for the production of CRMs.

Concerns

Some industry analysts and traders remain skeptical about the Executive Order’s immediate impact. While designating projects as “critical” may help expedite permitting, they note that the U.S. lacks the infrastructure needed for large-scale domestic CRM production and development could take 5 to 10 years. They also point out that market forces, such as fluctuating commodity prices, are likely to drive company decisions more than regulatory changes.

Environmental groups and some vessel operators have criticized the Executive Order, warning it could cause irreversible harm to marine ecosystems and undermine international efforts to regulate DSM responsibly. The Center for Biological Diversity called the order a direct contradiction of global environmental protections. Internationally, China and several UN member states condemned the U.S. approach as a violation of international law and a threat to the principle of the ocean as the “common heritage of mankind.”

While actions resulting from the Executive Order remain to be seen, its intent to establish the U.S. as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration provides a potential opportunity for vessel owners and operators.