A resolution urging the Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

No law would change — the Senate would only go on record urging the U.S. to join the 1982 Law of the Sea treaty.

The details

Nothing here would change daily life in the United States. The Senate would only put an opinion on the record. It says the country should join the Law of the Sea treaty, a 1982 pact that sets the rules for the world's oceans. No money is spent. No law changes. Joining would still take a separate vote by two-thirds of the Senate. This measure does not hold that vote. The treaty draws the lines at sea. It sets who controls fishing zones and shipping lanes, how far a coast's rights reach, and who may mine the deep seabed. The United States helped write it and follows it in practice. But it never joined. As of January 2025, 170 parties had joined. The United States was not one of them. Backers say sitting outside the treaty costs the country leverage. It cannot vote on seabed mining rules. It cannot join ocean boundary cases as a full party. Navy and Coast Guard leaders who served under presidents of both parties support joining. They say it would not limit how the military sails or flies. The Chamber of Commerce supports it too. It says firms want clear legal rules before they spend on deep-sea mining. The same goes for the undersea cables that carry more than 97 percent of internet traffic. One area at stake is the seabed off Alaska, which may reach more than 600 nautical miles from shore.