Source: Greenpeace Aotearoa
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”.
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.
“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.