DESCRIPTION OF SOME TYPES OF MARINE TECHNOLOGY AND POSSIBLE METHODS FOR THEIR TRANSFER: REPORT PREPARED BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82S00697R000400050005-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 15, 2002
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: February 27, 1975
• Content Type: REPORT

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mum N F 10 N S"'
THIRD CONFERENCE
ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
Third Committee
DESCRIPTION OF S02v1E TYPES OF MARINE TECHNOLOGY AND
POSSIBLE 14ETHODS FOR THEIR TRANSFER: REPORT
PREPARED BY THE SECRETARY _GENERAL
CONTENTS
Pam
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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I. Some notes on the process of marine technology transfer . . . . .
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'(1) General approach to programme design . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(2) Regional approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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II. A description of some marine activities . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(1) Offshore oil and gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .
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(a) Geological and geophysical surveying . . . . . . . . .
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(b) Exploratory drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(c) Production drilling, completion and maintenance . . . .
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(d) Storage and transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(2) Sea-bed mining and dredging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(a) Dredging and shallow water mining . . . . . . . . . . .
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(b) Deep sea-bed mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(3) Offshore structures, cables and pipelines . . . . . . . .
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(k) Submersibles and undersea habita's . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(5) Extraction of dissolved chemicals from sea-water . . . ... .
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(6) Desalination of sea-water .. . . .. . . . . . . . . ...
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75-o4234
G 75-63031
State Dept. review completed
Distr.
LIMITED
A/CONF.62/c.3/L.22
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
27 February 1975
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During the Caracas session of the Conference, the Third Committee requested
the Secretary-General to provide adc.itional information describing the various
types of marine technology and the possibilities for their transfer. Special
reference was made to paragraph 60 of the report, "Problems of acquisition and
transfer of marine technology" 1/ which stressed the need.f.r information regarding,
for example, offshore oil and gas technology, deep sea mining, offshore structures,
the extraction of dissolved chemicals from sea-water, undersea habitats and sand
and gravel dredging. 2/
The present report consists of a brief description of the above technologies,
reviewing the process of marine technology transfer and indicating possible
methods for its promotion. Delegations should note that a summary of existing
arrangements in the United Nations system for making available to interested
countries, particularly the developing countries, information on advances in
technology and the transfer of such technology to them, will be annexed to a
forthcoming report on uses of the sea to be submitted to the Economic and Social
Council at its fifty-ninth session.
1/ A/CONF.62/C.3/L.3.
2/ Information on these topics can be found in the following United Nations
documents: "Mineral resources of the sea" (E/4973) ; "Economic significance, in
terms of sea-bed mineral resources, of the various limits proposed for national
jurisdiction" (A/AC.138/87); "Uses of the sea" (E/5120 and Corral).
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I. SOME NOTES ON THE PROCESS OF MARINE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
1. The transfer of-technology has become an important concern of ..the world
community, as reflected in the section on transfer of technology in resolution
3202 (S--VT) of the Sixth Special Session of the General Assembly which states
that:
"All efforts should. be made:
(a) To formulate an international code of conductfor the transfer of
technology' corresponding "to needs and conditions prevalent in developing
countries;
(b) To give access on improved terms to modern technology..and to
adapt that technology, as appropriate, to specific economic, social and
ecological conditions and varying stages of development in developing
countries
(c) :To expand significantly the assistance' from developed to developing
countries in research and development programmes and in the creation of
suitable indigenous technology;
(d) To adapt commercial practices governing transfer of technology
to the requirements of the developing countries and to prevent abuse of
the rights of sellers;
(e) To promote international co-operation in research and development
in exploration and exploitation, conservation and the legitimate utilization
of natural resources and all sources of energy.
In taking the above measures, the special needs of the least developed and
.land-locked countries should be borne. in mind."
2. Marine technology is a product of man's attempts to control or adapt to
the ocean environment by means of rationally organized systems of operation. To
be sure, these systems encompass a wide range of activities fishing, scientific
research, traflsport ation, communication and. navigation, hydrocarbon and hard
mineral exploitation to name just a few - of greater or lesser degrees of
sophistication and investment.
3., The word "technology", normally''used as convenient shorthand, conceals at
least five important ingredients: (a) hardware, (b) operating procedures,
(c) maintenance procedures, (d) operating and maintenance skills, and (e) management
capacity. In some cases the hardware may be the least important ingredient while
skills and management capacity may be the most important.
4? In this regard it has been argued that the "most effective transfer seems to
occur through direct contact and actual working together of individuals.."
Effective technology transfer usually requires adaptation of equipment or processes
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to local conditions, and this can best be'done by arranging for experts and local
people to work together in_.the.,actual location where the new technology is to be
applied. 3/
5. The technology transfer process is conceived as a series of links in a very*
complex network of dynamic interrelationships. One of the necessary conditions
of success in transfer programmes is that they reflect the structure of the total
system of interrelationships instead of reflecting only certain portions of it in
a haphazard fashion... Transfer programmes must therefore be approached by way of
a carefully sequenced development of interrelated capabilities and supportive
services. 't/
6. Large-scale technology transfer programmes are essentially long-term,
difficult and costly because they imply the eventual creation of viable science
and engineering units. They imply also the effective organization of training
programmes related to specific technologies., the existence of secondary, technical
and university education, an awareness of a country's links with the world
technology market and judgements about the range of choice open to it on
particular items.
7. In situations where the levels of expertise and information are low, the
suppliers of marine technology are able to dictate terms and restrictive conditions
which maximize profits earned on equity as well as on the sale of machinery,
equipment, spare parts, and technical services. It is difficult for the recipient
to know how much should be paid for the information unless he already knows what
it is. In any event, information on new production technologies is not
systematically available in developing countries. 5/
3/ J. Liston and L. Smith, Fishing and the Fishing Industry -- An Account
with Comments on Overseas Technology Transfer, prepared for the M.I.T. Sea Grant
Study on International Marine Technology Transfer, June 1974, p. 81.
4/ Chandler Morse, Proposal for a Grant to Design a Long-term Prog,,ram for the.
Transfer of Marine Technical Capabilities to the Less Industrialised Countries,
Ocean Policy Committee, National Academy of Sciences, September 1974, Mimeo. See
also Liston and .smith, op. cit., p. 60. "Transfer is successful only if it
does two things. One is to create a structure, an indigenous organic system of
interdependent decision-making units and. operating components. At one level
this system must comprise a set of vertically related institutions extending
from pure science through applied research to production; at another level the
system requires an infrastructure of support services covering education,
training, career opportunities, financing, marketing and especially the localized
production of instruments, machines and equipment. The second thing transfer must
do is to initia:'Ge a dynamic process whereby the foregoing system components
expand, proliferate and change in response to emergent needs and become increasingly
independent, of external influences, expertise and aid."
5/ Surendra Patel, "Technological Dependence of Developing Countries: A
Survey of Issues and Lines of Action", in John Gamble and Giulio Pontecorvo, eds.
Law of the Sea: The Emerging,Re ime of the Oceans, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
(foot-note continued on following page)
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8. Sophisticated marine activities requiring conside.rable.investment in capital,
equipment and machinery may be undertaken through direct: foreign. investment,
outright purchase of foreign hardware, through joint ventures or licensing
contracts. . In.any.case, education and training programmes would have to be
established,
9. Technology is generally bought and sold in the world market in the form of
information (e.g.. designs), capi.tal goods (e.g. , equipme=nt and machinery), or
skilled manpower, and such components are generally subje-ct to pr9prietary rights
and are sold under restrictive conditions. The more modern and sophisticated the
technology as is the case with much marine technology -- the more likely it is
that the devices and processes are patented by individu Us or corporations which
are often multinational in scope. There i s a. high .,chan.? th.eref'ore th.nt. certain
technological components will have to be obtained by rhea}.is of foreign investment
or co-operative . ventures . On the other hand, if the rFeci:pi'ent has partial
familiarity with the specific technology required and. ha_% the technical. and
industrial capability to apply it, the development can olften be promoted by using
some hired expertise or purchasing or leasing some equipment from abroad.
10. Many-projects are carried out through various forms- of co.-operative ventures
in which the technology supplier and the recipient participate in varying degrees
in the provision of skills, machinery, capital and in management control. Often,
some of the elements are acquired as a packkage and other:. individually from the
sources of supply. Thus, in a project for coastal area development involving
construction of offshore terminals, a consultant agent from country 'tA1? may be
contracted to supply as a package the critical information on bottom topography,
conditions of wind, waves, tides and subsurface currents. of the coast, whereas
an engineering firm from country "B" may be engaged to design and construct the
terminals using mostly local manpower and materials. At the same time, the project
may use United Nations technical assistance for the tra.rnting of management personnel.
In any civil engineering contract such as the example above, and in many other
situations, it would be comirton.practice for the country concerned to appoint a
third par-by (e.g. an overseas consultant) to act on its i,::hal.f in managing and
overseeing the contract. This again provides some me su of protection to a
country not able to make its own technoloGical_ assessmenIs.
11. Both the direct and the indirect costs of large-sea :, transfer and transfer
5/-(continued)-
Ballinger Publishing Co. , 1973, pp. .58--59. See also the list provided by
Charles Weiss, 1PTechnology Transfer.and the Oceans" , lbi,d., pp. 82-83; and
Rutherford M. Poat s , Technology for Devell i g Nati ons, 'Washington, D. C . , The
Brookings Institution, 1972, pp. 62-65.
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programmes are high and this should be recognized even before planning has begun.
The direct costs of transfer include payments for the right to use patents,
licenses, process know-how and trademarks, and technical services at all levels
from the pre-investment phase to full operation. 6/ There is a premium on finding
labour-intensive technologies for application in developing countries and this
should be taken into account as one of the real social costs to be incurred by
the recipient. 7/ However, the terms of the contract made in the open market do
not allow the recipient country much lat..tude in meeting tiis need. Usually,
licensing agreements "... specify product characteristics that only the foreign
investor's capital-intensive equipment can achieve" and alterations of trademarked
goods are often forbidden. 8/
12. The indirect costs of transfer are also quite significant. Though these are
difficult. to estimate, they would have to include payments through: (a) overpricing
of imports of intermediate products and equipment; (b) profits on capitalization
of know-howy; (c) a portion of the repatriated profits of wholly-owned subsidiaries
or joint ventures; and (d) the price mark-up of technology included in the cost
of imported capital goods and. equipment. 9/
1.3. Compilation and dissemination of information is a primary function for the
transfer'of appropriate technology. But an information flow is not created
automatically; rather, it has to be promoted through the efforts of national and/or
international agencies.
14. In many countries, information has already been compiled aild is available in
national and international data centres. Access to this stock of compiled data,
which is available at low cost, would obviate the r.eed'for expensive information
inventories carried out by the recipient or the donor.
15. Educational programmes instituted in recipient universities or incorporated
into the actual marine activity involved may assist the recipient country to develop
the institutional and social. flexiblity and adaptability that would facilitate
the generation of "local" technology over a, historically speaking, compressed
time period.
(1) Generr:1 approach to_ogramre desi tx
16. It should always be -emphasized that transferring technology means transferring
not only hardware, but also operating and maintenance procedures, operating and
maintenance skills, and. management capacity. Otherwise the transfer will merely
be a temporary graft and will not survive the programme.
6/ Patel, "Technological. Dependence of Developing Countries
p. 637-
V Poats, op. cit., p. 58.
8/ Ibid., p. 59.
9/ Patel, op cit.., p. 64.
..", op. cit.
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'17. The question of designing a transfer programme must. therefore be approached.
systematically. with careful consideration given to local economic and ? socio-
culturalconditions. This may require the financing of interdisciplinary teams
of people with significant input by nationals of the recipient country at?every
stage of the process. 'Resources must be adequate, and the entire chain of tasks
compr:.si.ne the transfer process must be approached in carefully. sequenced strategies
of application.
".. /A/ total. programme should: be designed to proceed in s=short, achievable
stages to an ultimate goal. Each stage should represent a clearcut gain
and step forward. Long-term programmes which show benefits only after a
:s.^.pse of several year" ore "too essa.:Ly dropped, chanced, destroyed, "o
,.;?.2cletracked by economicor, ;.pol,i?ti:r..a.L chanr;e in either the recipient or
donor countries. Large programmes should be built on a series of srna11
projects protecting from total failure by. their. number-and limited objectives
ar14. provi.di.ng a number of alternative pathways to the -ultimate goal, however
that is defined. This is not intended to be an cncomium in praise of short-
term projects par se. Effective technology transfer requires a long-term
commitment and sustained effort on the part of both donor and recipient.
The suggestion is that this can better be done through integration of a
series of small-scale projects than by attempting to develop enormous
multinational efforts." 10/
(2) Rega.onaal aproach
18. Much mention has been male of regional co-operation for technology
transfer in the Law of the Sea Conference on the assumption that regional
co-operation minimizes the costs and maximizes the benefits for all participating
countries. However, in many cases costs and benefits are not proportionately
distributed. In many instances where a regional organizati.on is a relatively
effective continuing operation, the reason is that one member chooses to bear
a disproprtionate share of the cost even though others share in the benefits.
This often happens on issues involving national security. where organizational
responsibilities appertain to economics or science and technology, this
disproprtionate cost sharing is much less likely and members tend to demand that
there be little or no disparity between the apportionment of costs and the
distribution of benefits, 11/
19. In cases where regional organizations oriented to economic, scientific and
10/ Liston and Smith: "Fishing and the Fishing Industry", M.T.T. Sea Grant
Study of International Marine Technology Transfer, p. 59..
11/ This is a deliberate simplification of a well--developed theory. Those
interested in the original should see: MMMancur Olson, The Logic of Collective
Actio_n_, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 3rd Printing 1973; and Mancur Olson
and Richard Zeckhauser, "An. Economic Theory of Alliances", Review of Economics and
Statistics, vol. XLVIII, August 1966, pp. 266-279. For an application to
international organizations, see: John Rugtie, "Collective Goods and Future
International Collaboration", in American Political Science Review, vol. LXVI,
_ I ". .
No. 3, September 1972, pp. 874-89-3.
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technical activities are relatively effective in performance the reasons for this
have usually been: ' (a`)' either the "good" produced has been indivisible and of
high value 'so that?'its.attainment would have been impossible without effective
collaboration (e'.g.,'Ibnger range and more accurate weather forecasts); or
(b) although divisible : the "good" produced was still greater than the perceived
sum of the separate contributions (e.g., nuclear research in the Centre Europeen
pour la Recherche Nucleaire'(CE'RN),but there may be;real,cost limits to continuing
co-operation in these instances); or. (c) the primary source of contributions was
external, to the organizational members so that the question of the ration of
benefits to'ind.i-vidual'costs need never arise (e.g., CIMMYT and IRRI).
20. It`is. cleer`therefore that regional co-.operation for the transfer. of marine
technology will not be a panacea There will be limits to the utilization of this
mechanism flowing from the problem of who will pay the costs for what kind of
activity....' At1.the same time the regional alternative should be carefully examined
every, time a new transfer programme is contemplated: to see whether in that case
the mechanism is ' likely to work.
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(1) Offshore-oil and gas
21. The production of petro_etun and natural gas from offshore sources is one of
the most complex and capital intensive marine industries. The high costs and
risks associated Tith marine hydrocarbon :xploitation have tended to restrict
participation to large enterprises or corporations, many of which are multinational
in their operations. The e.,steiit of vertical. integration of the offshore oil and
gas industry varies ccnsid.ea aioly. Some of the major multinational-corporations
engage it all operational phases, from the exploration stage to transportation
refining tend marketing. On the other hand., many enterprises utilize the services
of firms specializing in discreet phases of offshore activity such as surveying,
exploratory drilling, offshore facilities maintenance, etc.
(a) Geological and geophysical surveying
22. Remarkable technological advances in instrumentation for offshore surveying
have occurred during the last two decades. Improvements in collection and data
processing (gravity, magnetic field, and seismic reflection) and in position
fixing techniques for survey vessels are particularly important. However, location
and evaluation'of marine hydrocarbon resources remain a costly and uncertain
exercise;, positive discovery and evaluation can only be accomplished by
exploratory drilling.
23. Exploratory drilling is relatively expensive (compared to surveying), and
prudent selection of promising sites depends upon information from geological and
geophysical surveying. The location of the most promising structures in
appropriate strata, is the objective of offshore surveying. 12/
2b. The main scientific techniques involve sensitive measurement of spatial.
variation of the earth's magnetic and gravity fields which can be interpreted to
represent the different character of thick sedimentary basins from other
continental or oceanic geological conditions. The most useful technique currently
in use is the seismic reflection profiling system. This system utilizes an
intense source of energy that produces sound waves which can penetrate the
seabottom to a depth of several kilometers. i,rteasurements of the time of arrival
of echoes from successively deeper layers of strata are made from hydrophones
(underwater microphones). 'T'hese measurements can be analysed. by very sophisticated
mathematical techniques to infer the location of geological structures.
.25. Petroleum exrloration firms utilize equipment that operates on the same
principles as the instruments used by geologists and oceanographers to study the
12/ The importance of these data for decision making by the public sector, is
demonstrated by a: recent directive of the U.S. Department of the Interior which
requires that, all (outer continental shelf) geological and geophysical information
not yet interpreted - I ..c . , corrected data in analog and digital form - be
submitted at no charge to the Department. /...
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general geological structures and processes of the continental margins. However,
the instruments used for direct. petroleum exploration are exceedingly more
refined and sophisticated in order to provide considerably more detailed data
about subsurface geological structure on a scale as fine as several kilometers
in dimension and depth below the surface. Geophysical. data collection services
have evolved into a separate industry and raw or analysed data can be obtained
for many areas of the world for a fixed price? Such data may already have been
collected and deposited in private industrial "libraries" or the exploration firms
will undertake surveys at the specifications of the data buyer.
26. Some 450,000 lj.real miles of continental margin geology have been surveyed
around the world and are cv-ail_aba.e for purchase. Typically, the collection of
seismic reflection profiling measurements costs a minimum of approximately
$US 100 per mile of sti gay strip travel, and analytical costs for geological
interpretations cost an additional $US 30-50 per mile.
27. This (or even more intensely surveyed) geological. information is then
utilized to -identify sits where the geologic formations show the highest
probability of oil and gas acc umulat.ion .
(b) Exploratory dril.lin
28. Selection of exploratory drilling sites is based upon various criteria which
include depth of water and, depth of the structure within the promising sedimentary
strata. rxrolorax6ry drilling at sea utilizes essentially the same kinds of drilling;
techniques developed for drilling or land. The equipment is mounted on fixed or
mobile platforms (drilling ships, semisubmersibles, or Jack-up rigs), and the time
period required for drilling a single exploratory hole will usually be limited
to several weeks (once the platform is at the site).
29. Obviously not all the exploratory wells discover economically exploitable
concentrations of oil and gas. The investments for exploratory drilling range
from hundreds of t1lorsands to several million dollars (U.S.) per hole (depending
upon depth of water and other factors).
( c ) Production drillir , completion, and maintenance
30. The discovery of concentrations of oil and gas by exploratory drilling. will
typicallyculnrinate several yeas of exploratory effort. Once the production
decision has been made, at 1-east several additional years would usually be required
to produce oil an(:! . as in commercial quantities.
31. Production drilling; is normally accomplished from fixed or ck-up" platforms,
and a large number of iiell,s can be drilled from the single platform by means of
slant drilling; techniques .(12-2!l, wells per platform are not uncommon). In 1972,
an eighteen-well drilling platform in 250 feet of water represented an installation
cost of a-voroximat;:ly (U.S. ). "Complction' refers to the installation
of -,13. 0- 'e _1 4' ~,w w .i:1 (r