Michael Lodge Stakeholder Survey
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INTERNATIONAL CABLE Tel: + 44 1590 681 673 PROTECTION COMMITTEE LTD Fax: + 44 870 432 7761 Email: [email protected] PO Box 150 LYMINGTON SO41 6WA General Manager: Mr. Graham Marle United Kingdom www.iscpc.org Attn: Michael Lodge Stakeholder Survey (ISBA/Cons/2014/1) International Seabed Authority 14-20 Port Royal Street Kingston Jamaica 15 May 2014 Dear Michael, The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is pleased to respond to the ISA stakeholder survey with the attached response. Please note that responses have only been provided to questions 11, 13, 28-30, and 33. The ICPC has no comment in respect of the remaining questions. Almost all of the world’s transoceanic telecommunications (including the Internet) is now dependent upon the existence of submarine cables and the ICPC represents almost all of the companies that own and operate them. Currently the ICPC has 143 members from over 60 nations – attached list refers. Many of the ICPC’s members are also involved in submarine cables that are used for power, scientific or military purposes. As noted in your thoughtful cover letter, many of these submarine cable systems traverse areas over which the ISA has jurisdiction for its special role under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (“UNCLOS”). The ICPC works hard to cooperate with other users of the seabed in order to protect the critical international infrastructure represented by submarine cables. The ISA and the ICPC have already entered into an MOU (dated 25 February 2010) in order to foster a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship between the two organizations. The ICPC would therefore be very pleased to participate in future stakeholder activities that may impact submarine cables in the Area. I take this opportunity to inform you that I will be leaving the ICPC on 30th June, however Mr. Keith Schofield has already been appointed as my successor and will be able to maintain continuity of communications with the ISA after that date. Yours sincerely, Graham Marle General Manager CC: Neil Rondorf, ICPC Chairman Registered in England No 5344353 Registered Office: 12 Fratton Road, PORTSMOUTH, PO1 5BX U.K RESPONSE TO ISA – STAKEHOLDER SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Q11. In your view, what criteria should Contractors / the ISA consider in connection with the optimum size of exploitation areas within a contract area? ICPC Response to Q11: The ICPC does not have an opinion on the optimum size but it should be such that the Contractor(s) can carry out their operations with due regard to submarine cables already in place and to provide a means to coordinate for future laying of submarine cables in a way that will not unreasonably restrict such laying or prejudice the possibilities of repairs. Q13. The Exploration Regulations require Contractors to maintain appropriate insurance policies that are in accordance with generally accepted maritime practice. Do you have any recommendations as to any specific insurance products that should be reflected in the exploitation regulatory framework? ICPC Response to Q13: The ICPC would like to see that any vessel employed the Contractor(s) in marine operations associated with the exploration and exploitation of resources in the Area be required to have current Protection & Indemnity (P&I) insurance for the vessel and any submersibles, AOV’s, ROV’s or other vehicles and devices launched from or employed by the vessel, including the appropriate endorsement for special operations involving any of the envisioned seabed operations and related activities. The P&I Club issuing the insurance should be required to provide to the ISA and any third party that requests it a Certificate of Entry for the vessel owner, manager, and charterer(s) issued by a reputable P&I Club. The minimum amount of coverage would US$250M for any damage or injury to third party property such as submarine cables. Q28. In considering health, safety, labour and maritime security, can you suggest the general and / or specific duties and obligations that should be placed on Contractors under the exploitation regulations? Please also consider any further specific obligations toward other users of the marine environment. ICPC Response to Q28: The Contractor(s) should be required to include as part of their project management certification that it has consulted with the ICPC, nautical charts, or any public data to identify and submarine cables that will be crossed during the envisioned seabed operations. For any submarine cable identified in Area where the Contract for exploration or exploitation has been awarded by the ISA, the Contractor shall certify that it has: a) contacted the owner(s) of the submarine cable system, b) provided adequate details of the planned operations on the seabed, c) worked out a suitable crossing arrangement or agreement that reduces the risk of inadvertent damage to the submarine cable system, and d) provides that operations will be conducted so as to not unreasonably prejudice the future repair of the submarine cable system. Q29. How can the ISA best develop a communications and consultation strategy which both secures transparency, efficiency and provides for the needs of a broad stakeholder base? It would be helpful to include specific examples of successful communication and consultation approaches. ICPC Response to Q29: Early engagement with stakeholders is essential. Before contract area licences are issued, the prospective Contractor(s) must be able to demonstrate to the ISA that they have undertaken a study to identify all of the cable/pipeline infrastructure contained within the Area in which they intend to operate and subsequently engaged with all of its owners and/or operators. Q30. What forms of engagement best enable you to make contributions and receive appropriate feedback? Please provide comments on any specific initiatives, including digital initiatives, that would be productive together with any observations on the structure and content of the current ISA website (www.isa.org.jm). ICPC Response to Q30: Before contract area licences are issued, the ISA should send details of the proposed areas to recognized organisations (e.g. the ICPC, Danish Cable Protection Committee (DKCPC) Subsea Cables UK, NASCA and Oceana Submarine Cable Associaiton (OSCA). Details of the proposed licence areas would be circulated to members of these organisations. This would potentially help the ISA and prospective Contractor(s) identify any cable/pipeline infrastructure in the areas, but would not indemnify them against damage to cables/pipelines owned, or not owned, by members of these organisations. Q33. Are there any further comments you wish to make on the issues raised in this survey that you have not commented on elsewhere? ICPC Response to Q33: The ICPC looks forward to continued cooperation with the ISA in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the ISA and the ICPC dated 25 February 2010. Member List, Issue: 2014/5 15 May 2014 No. Country Member Organisation 1 Angola Angola Cables 2 Angola Angola Telecom 3 Anguilla Subsea Environmental Services Ltd 4 Aruba Setar N.V. 5 Australia Attorney-General’s Department (Government Member) 6 Australia Australia Japan Cable Ltd 7 Australia Basslink Pty Ltd 8 Australia Southern Cross Cables Limited 9 Australia Telstra International 10 Bahamas Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited 11 Belgium Jan de Nul N.V (Associate Member) 12 Bermuda Australia-Singapore Cable (International) Limited (Associate Member) 13 Bermuda Cable Co Ltd 14 Canada IT International Telecom Canada Inc. 15 Canada Ocean Networks Canada 16 China China Telecommunications Corporation 17 China Huawei Marine Networks Co., Ltd 18 China S. B. Submarine Systems Co., Ltd 19 China ZTT International Limited 20 Chinese Taipei Chunghwa Telecom Co. 21 Colombia Energía Integral Andina S.A. 22 Comoros Comores Telecom 23 Cyprus Cyprus Telecommunications Authority 24 Denmark Energinet.dk 25 Denmark TDC A/S 26 Denmark TeliaSonera International Carrier AB 27 Djibouti Djibouti Telecom 28 Egypt Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Submarine Cable Systems 29 Egypt Telecom Egypt 30 Equatorial Guinea Gestor de Infraestructuras de Guinea Ecuatorial (GITGE) 31 Faroe Islands Faroese Telecom 32 France Orange 33 France Orange Marine 34 French Polynesia OPT - Polynésie Française 35 Germany Deutsche Telekom AG 36 Germany EWE Aktiengesellschaft 37 Germany Fugro OSAE GmbH 38 Germany Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke GmbH 39 Germany Tennet Offshore GmbH 40 Germany Vattenfall Europe Windkraft GmbH 41 Ghana ETG Integrated Services Limited (Dolphin) 42 Gibraltar Gibtelecom 43 Greece Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. / OTE S.A. 44 Greenland TELE Greenland A/S 45 Guadeloupe Global Caribbean Network 46 Guinea GUILAB S.A. 47 Hong Kong SAR EGS Survey Group 48 Hong Kong SAR PCCW Global Limited 49 Iceland Farice ehf 50 India Bharti Airtel Limited 51 India TATA Communications Ltd 52 Indonesia PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin) 53 Ireland Electricity Supply Board (ESB) 54 Ireland Hibernia Networks Ltd 55 Italy ELETTRA TLC SpA 56 Italy Explorer Marine SBoSS ApS (Associate Member) 57 Italy Telecom Italia Sparkle 58 Italy Terna Rete Italia 59 Japan Earthquake Research Institute 60 Japan Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology 61 Japan KDDI 62 Japan Kokusai Cable Ship Co. Ltd 63 Japan NEC Corporation Page 1 of 3 Member List, Issue: 2014/5 15 May 2014 No. Country Member Organisation 64 Japan NTT Communications Corporation 65 Japan SoftBank Telecom Corp. 66 Jersey