SEABED ASSEMBLY AND COUNCIL OPEN KINGSTON SESSION

(Reissued as received.)

KINGSTON, 30 JULY (International Seabed Authority) -- The Assembly and the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) convened for the Authority's ninth session in Kingston today, adopting their agendas for the session, which runs from 28 July to 8 August.

As its President for the year, the 143-member Assembly elected Josef Franzen of Slovakia, Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Government in the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization and General Director of the Geology and Natural Resources Division in his country's Environment Ministry.  (A biographical note appears in Press Release SEA/1778.)  He was nominated by the Czech Republic on behalf of the Eastern European Group.

Also this morning, the Assembly elected two new members to replace their compatriots who resigned from the Finance Committee in May.  Bernd Kreimer (Germany) takes the place of Peter Döllekes, while Manimuthu Gandhi (India) will serve in the seat left vacant by Narinder Singh.  They will fill out terms through the end of 2006.  All elections were by acclamation.

The 36-member Council, meeting at midday, elected Yoshiaki Igarashi (Japan) to the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC).  He will serve the remainder of the term of the late Yuji Kajitani, who was elected in 2001 for five years.  Mr. Igarashi is Deputy Director of the Mineral Resources Information Centre in the Metal Mining Agency of Japan (biographical notes in ISBA/9/C/1).

Election of the President for the current session of the Council was postponed to allow the Western European and Others Group more time to propose a candidate.  At the group's suggestion, the Council agreed that the outgoing President, Fernando Pardo Huerta (Chile), would continue in that post for the day.

The Council will meet informally this afternoon for a briefing on progress in marine scientific research in the international seabed area and the results of an ISA workshop on a geological model for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean, held at Nadi, Fiji, in May.

As provided in its agenda (draft in ISBA/9/C/L.1), the 36-member Council will continue considering the establishment of regulations to govern prospecting and exploration for polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts in the international seabed area.  Advising the Council on this topic, the LTC, a subsidiary body composed of experts, met in subgroups last week and in full session Monday and yesterday, 28-29 August, at the start of the current session of the Authority.

At this session, the main item to be considered by the Assembly will be the annual report of Secretary-General Satya N. Nandan on the work of the Authority (ISBA/9/A/3).  The report, to be taken up next week, covers the recent work of the Authority and plans for future activities.

The Assembly's agenda for this year (draft in ISBA/9/A/L.1) also includes the election of vice-presidents from each regional group and the appointment of the Credentials Committee, while the Council must also choose its vice-presidents.  Action on these items was postponed today to allow regional groups time to consult.

The Assembly observed a moment of silence in honour of two former participants in the Authority's work who have died since the last session -- Lennox F. Ballah of Trinidad and Tobago and Mr. Kajitani of Japan.

Mr. Ballah, who died in Trinidad in March, had been appointed a year earlier as a justice on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.  He served as president of the Authority's Council in 1997 and was instrumental in the establishment of the LTC.

Mr. Kajitani was a director in the Metal Mining Agency of Japan.  An expert in marine geology, he was a member of the LTC since 1998.

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