/ Supplied
Greenpeace activists are
occupying a New Zealand state-owned research vessel in
Wellington this morning. The Tangaroa has just finished deep
sea mineral exploration work for an American company,
Glomar, that is vying to start mining in the Pacific as soon
as 2027.
An activist dressed as US President Donald
Trump, flew an American flag from the Earth Sciences
(formerly NIWA) vessel. Another activist held a banner
reading “Don’t Mine the Moana”.
/ Supplied
The protest highlights
the role New Zealand is playing in Trump’s attempts to
bypass international law and expedite deep sea mining in the
Pacific, despite international resistance to the practice
starting. Activists sent a clear message on the protest: New
Zealand must not be complicit in Trump’s minerals
grab.Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee
says:
“It’s disturbing to see this vessel, which is
owned by our government, being used to further American
imperialism in the Pacific where resistance to this new form
of extraction is strong,” says Lee.
“If deep sea
mining is allowed to go ahead it will strip the seafloor,
risking irreversible damage to the ocean we all rely on, to
supply minerals for Trump’s war machine. Pacific Peoples
are at the frontline of this fight, and deep sea mining puts
their way of life and cultural heritage at risk. It must not
be allowed to start.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“While the rest of the world is
still debating if deep sea mining should even be allowed to
go ahead, Trump has gone rogue. He’s decided that the US
will just start mining regardless of international laws, and
the rights and interests of the communities who rely on the
ocean. New Zealand must not be complicit in this.”
The
Tangaroa has just returned from the Clarion- Clipperton Zone
in the international waters of the Pacific, where it
surveyed deep sea minerals. The research was carried out on
behalf of UK Seabed Resources Ltd (UKSR), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of US corporate entity Glomar Minerals,
Inc., that has made clear its intentions to begin
commercial exploitation of the seafloor in
2027.
Glomar has said that the mineral nodule sampling
done onboard the Tangaroa will feed into securing critical
mineral supply chains for the US.In April 2025, Trump issued
an Executive Order to fast-track commercial deep sea mining
in US and international waters. Earlier this year the US
government launched Project Vault, an initiative to secure a
global supply chain and stockpile a reserve of minerals for
military and industrial purposes.
The expedition comes
as the US administration is preparing to issue unilateral
commercial permits for seafloor minerals. It’s a move that
bypasses the International Seabed Authority (ISA) where UN
member states are negotiating the regulations that will
guide deep sea mining.
Chris Williams, Glomar CEO, has
publicly stated that seabed mining “is likely to proceed
regardless” of international negotiations. Now, using data
gathered by the Tangaroa, Glomar seems set to apply for a US
commercial exploitation permit. The Pacific region
overwhelmingly rejects deep sea mining, with 46 countries
worldwide including New Zealand supporting an international
moratorium.
Says Lee: “The New Zealand Government
seems to be aligning with Trump’s imperialist extractive
agenda, instead of standing with our Pacific neighbours.
From negotiating a minerals deal so Trump can stockpile NZ
minerals for weapons, to co-funding a port in the Cook
Islands with the US, to sending our state-owned assets to
work for a rogue industry working to exploit the last
wilderness on the planet, our government is cozying up to
this rogue and destructive regime.
“We had to call it
out and call it what it is: NZ being a US puppet.”
The
Tangaroa is no stranger to protest. In 2015 Greenpeace
activists occupied the vessel in protest of its use by the
international oil industry to survey the waters of Aotearoa
for deep sea oil drilling. “We have a long history of taking
action when our government has chosen to back international
polluters over our oceans. Fair warning to them, we will not
stand by while they make us complicit in US imperialism and
this new wave of colonial extraction”, says Lee.
Over
100,000 New Zealanders have signed an open letter to Winston
Peters calling for him to support a global ban on deep sea
mining, joining millions around the world who oppose it. .
In 2022 the Government announced support for a conditional
global moratorium on deep sea
mining,
