On September 9, 2025, the 2025 contractor training class under the international seabed resource exploration contracts of the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) and China Minmetals Corporation opened in Qingdao. The class is run at the request of COMRA and China Minmetals, under the guidance of the China Ocean Affairs Administration, and is organized and implemented by the National Deep Sea Center. Eighteen trainees from 14 countries, including Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Somalia, Liberia, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Uganda, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, are taking part.
The class runs for three months, with training activities in Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changsha and other cities. It is designed to help trainees from developing countries learn about the law and policy of the international seabed area, deep-sea resources and environment, and deep-sea technology and equipment, and to build their skills and practical capabilities in deep-sea mineral resource exploration and development, deep-sea environmental management and impact assessment, deep-sea mineral processing and metallurgy, and the development and application of deep-sea technical equipment. Gabriel Blamo Saydee of Liberia said the training class was a powerful testament to the spirit of global partnership, and expressed the hope that the relationships built there between China and the trainees’ countries would not only endure but flourish. Annie Sung of Indonesia said the class brought all the trainees together, both through their shared eagerness to learn about the largely unexplored deep-sea world and through their excitement at experiencing China, adding that the training would undoubtedly influence them professionally, academically and personally.
This class is the international training activity covering the most contracts, with the largest scale and the longest duration since China began fulfilling its contractor training obligations under its exploration contracts. It is presented as a concrete step by Chinese exploration contractors to fulfil their international obligations and expand China’s international cooperation and influence in the deep-sea field, and as a contribution to capacity building for developing countries. Since 2021, the National Deep Sea Center has taken on international seabed exploration contractor training assignments, with more than 60 trainees from over 30 countries having taken part. The work has been well received by the international trainees, the exploration contractors and the International Seabed Authority.
