Posted on 30-3-2002

Nuclear Fuels Ship Burns

London/Auckland, March 27th/28th 2002
One of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) nuclear transport ships, the Atlantic
Osprey caught fire during its voyage from dry dock in Manchester to the
Irish Sea, it was revealed today.


The ship, which was on route to the Irish Sea for sea trials, had
recently undergone modifications and upgraded in dry dock. The fire on
Monday 25th March, occurred in the starboard engine around 12.00hrs. The
crew failed to suppress the fire by themselves and following activation
of the ship’s fire suppressing system and with assistance of the Salford
Fire Department, they confirmed the fire was extinguished. BNFL have been
unable at this time to confirm the length of time the fire burned. The
ship was returned to dry dock at Salford Quays. “Despite the claims of
the nuclear industry, there is always a risk that nuclear transport
ships will have serious accidents. This time we were lucky – no nuclear
cargo and no injuries,” said Shaun Burnie of Greenpeace International.
“However, this clearly demonstrates that it can and does happen. This
time it happened in the Manchester Ship Canal; next time it could be ship
loaded with plutonium in Japan or en route via the Tasman Sea with a
nuclear cargo. “There needs to be immediate and full disclosure of all
the details of this incident and a thorough review of fire protection on
all of BNFL’s ships, with no cover-up,” Shaun Burnie said.


The engine fire comes just weeks before two other BNFL operated nuclear
transport ships, the Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Teal, are expected
to depart from Barrow-in-Furness, in the north of England for Japan for
what is the most controversial nuclear transport in history. They will
transport a cargo of plutonium MOX fuel back from Japan, which was
rejected by its Japanese owners. It was shipped to Japan in 1999 when it
was then revealed that BNFL, the producers of the fuel, had deliberately
falsified vital Quality Control data.


The Japanese Government disclosed January 30th that the Tasman Sea could
be a possible route for this shipment. “Governments around the world are
opposed to BNFL’s nuclear transports. This latest incident will only
increase their anxiety about the risk of accident. If this fire had taken
place off the coast of one of these countries with a plutonium or
nuclear waste cargo the consequences could have been catastrophic. It is
an ominous warning of what could happen to the two BNFL ships due to
leave Barrow for Japan in a matter of weeks. These transports ships and
this industry need to be stopped,” said Shaun Burnie of Greenpeace
International.


International standards for nuclear transports are fundamentally flawed.
The containers used to transport plutonium MOX fuel on the Arneb/Atlantic
Osprey are classified as ‘Type-B’ under International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) guidelines. As such they are required to resist
temperatures of up 800 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes. However, ship
fires regularly burn at temperatures in excess of 1100 degrees
centigrade. The average burning time of a fire on vessels at sea is in
excess of 24 hours in spaces with machinery, such as the fire on the
Osprey.


The Irish Government is currently fighting two international legal
actions against the UK Government citing safety issues of nuclear
transports, lack of consultation and compliance with terms of the United
Nations Law of the Sea. They are also considering legal action under the
International Law of the Sea to stop the shipment of plutonium MOX fuel
from Japan to the UK. In a further sign of opposition, Panama is
currently debating legislation that would prohibit nuclear transports
through the Panama Canal.


Greenpeace supports the right of en-route states threatened by nuclear
shipments to have prior notification and consultation on issues related
to the safety and security of the shipments. No independent Environmental
Impact Assessment has been conducted on these shipments, including the
ability of coastal states to manage serious accidents, including fires,
involving dangerous nuclear cargoes.


The Atlantic Osprey, operating as the Arneb, transported numerous cargoes
of plutonium MOX fuel from the German port of Bremerhaven to the Dounreay
nuclear complex during the mid-late 1990’s. There was widespread
opposition to the shipment citing safety and security concerns. In late
2001, the vessel, still operating as the Arneb, moved hundreds of
kilograms of plutonium back from Dounreay to Germany in several voyages
across the North Sea. The safety of nuclear transports was hotly debated
at the Environment Ministers Conference on the North Sea only last week
in Bergen, Norway, with the UK Government claiming that the ships used
were of the highest standard.