Posted on 9-7-2002
Plutonium
Ships Heading For Rocks?
Auckland, New Zealand, 8 July 2002: The grounding of the British
destroyer
HMS Nottingham, which is rumoured to be in the Tasman to escort
the
plutonium ships, only highlights how irresponsible and dangerous
this whole
transport is, Greenpeace said today. “Shipments of plutonium
will be in the
Tasman Sea within two weeks and in the last week bad weather
has grounded
the HMS Nottingham and devastated the Federated States of Micronesia,
said
Bunny McDiarmid, Greenpeace Nuclear spokesperson. “You have
to seriously
wonder if those who are making the decision to send these ships
through
this region in the middle of winter know what they are doing.”
Parts of the route planned for the plutonium shipments are officially
classified as Marine High Risk Areas by Lloyds of London. “The
shipment is
dangerous enough on its own let alone adding risk by sending
it through the
southern seas in winter,” said McDiarmid.
Questions have also been raised on why the HMS Nottingham is
in this region
in the first place. UK Channel 4 News has speculated that she
is there to
protect the plutonium shipments from terrorist attacks. “There
have been
rumours running for the last few months that the shipment of
reject
plutonium, carrying 255 kgs of weapons-usable material would
have an
additional escort that would not be part of the public plan,”
said
McDiarmid. “Clearly those making the shipment recognise what
a security
risk this shipment is”.
The HMS Nottingham ran aground off Lord Howe in the mid-Tasman,
300 miles
north east of Sydney yesterday, near where the Pacific Flotilla
will
converge. Only last week an oil tanker also grounded off the
coast of Fiji.
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