Key points
- On December 15, 2021, the opening ceremony of the online training programme under COMRA’s polymetallic nodule exploration contract was held online.
- COMRA Secretary-General Liu Feng and National Deep Sea Center Director Gu Wu attended, along with trainees from Kiribati, Nigeria, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China and other countries.
- Over four months the 10 international trainees will take video courses covering deep-sea law and policy, nodule resource exploration, the deep-sea environment and deep-sea technology.
- This is the first international personnel training project organized by the National Deep Sea Center.
On December 15, 2021, the opening ceremony of the online training programme under the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) polymetallic nodule exploration contract was held online. COMRA Secretary-General Liu Feng, National Deep Sea Center Director Gu Wu, and international trainees from Kiribati, Nigeria, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China and other countries attended the ceremony.
Secretary-General Liu Feng reviewed COMRA’s participation in exploration of international seabed contract areas and its work training international trainees. Director Gu Wu described the National Deep Sea Center’s preparations for the training assignment, and the centre’s training working group briefed trainees on the course content, schedule, assessment requirements and other arrangements. The international trainees introduced themselves and held discussions.
Over the following four months, the 10 international trainees, organized by COMRA and the National Deep Sea Center, will take video courses and take part in online exchange activities covering international deep-sea law and policy, polymetallic nodule resource exploration and development, the deep-sea environment and ecosystems, and deep-sea technology and equipment. The programme is presented as a demonstration of COMRA actively fulfilling its obligations as an exploration contractor and of China taking on its international responsibilities.
Under the extension agreement for its polymetallic nodule exploration contract signed with the International Seabed Authority, COMRA is to provide personnel training for developing countries. In view of the pandemic, the training was moved to an online format. Entrusted by the COMRA office, the National Deep Sea Center undertook the organization and implementation of the training. After several months of preparation, the centre organized multiple teams of Chinese deep-sea experts to produce the video course system and completed the construction of the training website. In November 2021, the International Seabed Authority completed the selection of trainees and implementation of the training formally began.
This is the first international personnel training project organized by the National Deep Sea Center, and it lays a solid foundation for the centre to run international deep-sea personnel training as a regular line of business.
