The Authority followed this up (2001-2002) by signing 15-year contracts with seven private and public entities, giving them exclusive rights to explore for nodules in specified tracts of the seabed, each 75,000 square kilometers in size.
當局在2001年-2002年作出跟進，與7間私人及公共團體簽署了十五年的合約，給她們獨有的權力去探索特定的大片海床，每片大小為75000平方公里。