The “Middle Passage Memorial”: The legal duty towards underwater cultural heritage on the international Mid-Atlantic Ocean floor from the perspective of ongoing minerals exploration activities

In 2020, experts from Duke University (North Carolina, USA) proposed a formal recognition of the cultural and historical values of the Middle Passage i.e. the Atlantic Ocean floor that corresponds to the most common and shorter ship routes used to tran sport enslaved African s to the Americas in colonial times. This proposal to recognize the cultural and historical relevance of the Middle Passage by the Duke University experts (referred to as the Memorial in this paper) would be a sign of respect for the victims of the transatlantic slave trade , who lost their l ives while crossing the ocean. By mapping the relevant Middle Passage through virtual ribbons, i t would also aim to safeguard potential archaeological artifacts ( slave shipwrecks ) that could be found o n the mid - Atlantic Ocean floor from the impacts of future deep - seabed mining exploitation activities. This paper explores the Duke University ' experts' Memorial and the historical and cultural relevance of the Middle Passage . However , it turns to a diff erent perspec tive than the one adopted by the Memorial 's authors , who focused on concern s about future marine mineral exploitation (commercial mining). Whereas, t his paper looks at the legal duty to preserve historical artefacts from the perspective of ongoing licensed deep - sea mineral exploration activities in the Mid - Atlantic Ocean. Hence , it assesses the international legal dutie s of exploitation contractors, flag States and sponsoring Stat es to cooperate among themselves and to report the discovery of archeological artefacts in mineral exploration licensed areas to the competent international organiz ation(s). It does so by assessing the legal duty to protect s uch underwater artefacts under the Law of the Sea a nd Underwater Cultural Heritage treaties . Finally , through this legal assess ment , it recommends how to efficiently address the issue of safeguarding underwater archaeological artifacts discovered on the international ocean floor du ring mineral resources prospecting and exploration activities