The shipping giant is selling its stake in The Metals Company (TMC), a deep-sea mining firm.

Maersk has been an investor in TMC since 2017 and when the firm went public in 2021, its stake amounted to around 9%. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the shipping company confirmed that it now holds an interest of 2.3% and plans to sell. The stake had been acquired not through direct investment, but in return for shipping services provided to TMC. 

TMC plans to vacuum polymetallic nodules from the seabed in the Clipperton Zone in the North Pacific. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, NORI, and the Republic of Nauru, the corporation initiated negotiations for the legalisation of deep-sea mining in June 2021 when an application to the UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) was submitted. Nauru is attempting to speed up decision-making on the subject as the Pacific island nation is at risk of rising sea levels and wants to speed up the move towards decarbonisation.

The Maersk news is the second high-profile retreat from deep-sea mining in 2023. Lockheed Martin sold UK Seabed Resources in March, while various firms including BMW, Google, Renault, Rivian, Samsung, Scandia, Volkswagen, and Volvo have supported a call from some scientists and civil society organisations for a moratorium on the activity.

Deep-sea mining remains highly contentious. Proponents argue that the exploitation of cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper in particular from polymetallic nodules will help provide the metals required for energy transition and cause less environmental damage than large-scale surface mining.  Critics contend that deep-sea mining will cause untold damage to deep-water ecosystems and potentially release toxic sediments which could contaminate marine food chains. 

In March, a meeting of the ISA in Jamaica failed to finalise standards for deep-sea mining although the ISA has “…left the seabed at the mercy of a profit-focussed deep-sea mining industry, despite more governments calling for a precautionary cause…” according to Greenpeace. The next ISA meeting is scheduled for July. The process triggered by Nauru in 2021 means the ISA must start accepting deep-sea mining applications in July 2023, even if standards are not set.