International Seabed Authority

International AffairsKingson, Jamaica51-200 Employees

The International Seabed Authority is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI. It is responsible for organizing and controlling activities in the Area beyond national jurisdiction and for administering the resources of the Area in line with the regime for seabed and subsoil exploration and exploitation. The Authority is headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, and came into existence on 16 November 1994, becoming fully operational in June 1996 after taking over premises previously used by the United Nations Kingston Office for the Law of the Sea. Its work is conducted through its principal organs—the Assembly, Council, Legal and Technical Commission, Finance Committee, and Secretariat—and meetings are held at the Jamaica Conference Centre. 

Its primary constituency consists of States Parties to the UNCLOS, for whom the ISA provides governance over seabed activities and resource administration in the Area. The organization supports international cooperation and capacity-building in deep-sea governance, and it pursues ongoing initiatives such as expanding training facilities, including the ISA-China Joint Training and Research Centre in Sanya, China, inaugurated in May 2026.

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