The UN body that regulates mining in international waters has defended its authority over ocean governance after two subsidiaries of deep-sea mining firm The Metals Company (TMC) launched legal action to halt an investigation into their conduct.Speaking at the International Seabed Authority's (ISA) annual meeting in Kingston on Monday, secretary-general Leticia Carvalho said the regulator's role "matters more than ever" as governments grapple with growing pressure to exploit the deep seabed for minerals needed for the energy transition."The deep seabed belongs to no single country and no corporation; it belongs to all of us," Carvalho said, describing its resources as "the common heritage of humankind"."If we lose sight of this," she added, "we risk repeating on the ocean floor the same injustices and destruction we still strive to remedy on land."The conflict stems from TMC's attempt to bypass the UN process by applying for US-sponsored ocean mining permits offered last year by the Trump administration. The Canadian firm aims to become the first company to mine the seabed for minerals like nickel, rare earths and manganese used in the production of both clean energy technologies and military equipment.