Plans by Swiss-Dutch offshore giant Allseas to operate machinery for deep sea mining firm The Metals Company under unilateral U.S. authorisation directly violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to a groundbreaking legal opinion released today.[1] Commissioned by Greenpeace Netherlands, the analysis establishes that UNCLOS provisions bind Allseas directly, making its actions an immediate breach of international law. The opinion also concludes that the Dutch government is legally bound to intervene against a corporate violation that is no longer a future threat, but an active reality.
A landmark legal opinion by Professor André Nollkaemper of the University of Amsterdam, commissioned by Greenpeace Netherlands, notes that the binding May 2026 Contract for Development Work and Commercial Production between Allseas and The Metals Company (TMC) includes activities prohibited under international law. According to Nollkaemper the threat is "no longer a hypothetical prospect but a present and advancing fact." Consequently, the obligation on the Dutch government to intervene "is already engaged," as the agreement binds Allseas to an operation relying entirely on a "unilateral United States route".
Sascha Landshoff, Campaigner, Greenpeace Netherlands said: "Allseas appears entirely prepared to join forces with the Trump administration to carve up our oceans for private profit. This means illegal corporate mining operating entirely outside of international oversight. The Netherlands is bound by strict international obligations and must act accordingly. The deep sea does not belong to Trump and Allseas. It belongs to us all."
Under UNCLOS, the international seabed is protected from unilateral exploitation, granting sole regulatory jurisdiction to the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Professor Nollkaemper's legal evaluation outlines explicit obligations to be followed by the Dutch state [1]. For several years, Allseas-traditionally an offshore oil and gas operator - has been quietly positioning itself as the primary technological enabler of deep sea mining. In addition to being the largest strategic shareholder and investor in TMC, the offshore giant owns and operates the world's only functional deep sea mining vessel, retrofitted specifically to extract mineral-rich polymetallic nodules from the abyssal ocean floor.
In response to the legal assessment, Greenpeace Netherlands, alongside five major environmental organisations, has dispatched an urgent letter to the Dutch government demanding immediate regulatory intervention to prevent corporate complicity in unregulated deep sea extraction. The coalition is also demanding that the Netherlands send an unmistakable signal that our global commons cannot be plundered by officially joining the growing alliance of more than 40 nations calling for an international moratorium or precautionary pause on deep sea mining at the ISA.
A recent European Parliament's resolution, explicitly commands EU member states to respond with appropriate measures to any attempts to bypass the ISA and take direct action against non-compliant domestic companies.[3]
The deep sea remains one of Earth's final untouched wildernesses. Marine scientists warn that up to 90% of the species living in these extreme depths have yet to be discovered. The push for extraction comes amid stunning scientific breakthroughs, including the recent discovery that the very polymetallic nodules targeted by TMC and Allseas actually generate "dark oxygen" on the seafloor, and could be crucial to supporting unique deep sea life networks.
