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or 18KB JPG. Herman Peter, deck hand, on day watch. ©Greenpeace/Sims
The position of the nuclear waste ship Pacific Pintail at 0700 GMT was 36 degrees and 28 minutes south and 45 degrees and 21 minutes west, on a distance of some 300 miles east of the Uruguayan coast. We are sailing on a compass course of 202 degrees and at a speed of 12 knots. The Pacific Pintail is currently 100 miles east of the Uruguayan Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) and 240 miles Northeast of the Argentinean EEZ.
Today, according to Solo's First Mate, Klas Wihl, the Pintail arrives off the coast of Uruguay. Although the Uruguayan Government has expressed deep concern over this and future shipments of radioactive waste, the French plutonium company Cogema has still not responded with any details about the ship's route or it's cargo of radioactive death. Greenpeace crew, aboard the Solo, continue to track the nuclear waste ship's course, which now clearly appears to be heading for Cape Horn, on a South American route.
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or 18KB JPG. Herman Peter, deck hand, on day watch. ©Greenpeace/Sims
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or 17KB JPG. Klas Wihl, First Mate, delivering security message. ©Greenpeace/Sims
The Pacific Pintail has been denied access to Uruguayan jurisdictional waters. Previously, Argentina and Chile demanded the vessel stay outside of their waters. Yesterday Greenpeace's ship Solo was informed, however, that the Argentinean authorities are in negotiation with Japan through diplomatic channels over the passage of the shipment around Cape Horn.
Trade Unions are increasing their opposition to the transport of radioactive wastes. In Chile, the National Chilean Federation of small- scale fishermen (CONAPACH) have made a statement against the traffic of radioactive materials to and from Japan, and warn of the dangers posed to marine resources by the transport of radioactive materials. The statement, issued last Friday in Valparaiso, Chile's main port, also expresses concern over the "arrogance showed by the governments of Japan, France and England" and calls on the government of Chile "to prevent the ship from calling in any of this Nation's ports". In addition CONAPACH stated that "freedom of navigation must not be invoked in order to endanger international security, human health and natural resources".
On March 13th, the Brazilian National Fishers Movement (MONAPE), released a statement against the shipment. MONAPE called for the rejection of "these criminal acts against the environment" and condemned governments that allowed the threat of these nuclear waste shipments to the sea and to the fisheries and fishers to continue.
If additional information on the Pacific Pintail's voyage or it's cargo of plutonium waste is required, please contact Bas Bruyne on the Solo (phone: ++871-1301166), or Karen Richardson at Greenpeace UK (phone: ++44-171-226-3151). Photo, video or other media requests to Blair Palese or Mark Warford at Greenpeace Communications (phone: ++44-171-8330-600). Footage of the Solo tracking the Pacific Pintail off the Brazilian Coast over the past weekend is available from Greenpeace Communications.
Media and others interested in tracking the shipment's route daily should access Greenpeace World Wide Web site at: HTTP://WWW.greenpeace.org/
Best regards and No Nukes!
Ulf Birgander (Captain)
Bas Bruyne (Campaigner)
From: MV Solo
Date: TUE 14-MAR-95 19:10:51 GMT - DAY 20, PART II
The position of the Pacific Pintail at 1900 GMT was 38 degrees and 50 minutes South and 46 degrees and 54 minutes West, at a distance of some 450 miles off the Argentine coast. We are sailing on a compass course of 202 degrees and at a speed of 15 knots.
Today, the Argentine Navy flew over the Pacific Pintail with a search and rescue aircraft. They notified the captain of the Pintail that his ship had entered the search and rescue area under the responsibility of the Argentine Navy. Over the past days the Pintail has been sailing at much slower speed than before and only this morning the ship with its cargo of radioactive waste has increased its speed to 15 knots, for reasons unknown to us on the Solo.
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or 11KB JPG. Argentinian navy maritime patrol plane flies over the Pintail. ©Greenpeace/Sims
Countries in Latin-America have expressed their concern and opposition to the shipment of plutonium wastes traveling through their region. Should the Pacific Pintail succeed in rounding Cape Horn, then the operators and managers of the Pacific Pintail and the plutonium producers Cogema and BNFL will likely start to use the Cape Horn route for all their future shipments. On average every two months highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from reactors in Japan is transported for plutonium production to France and the UK. In addition, regular shipments of highly radioactive plutonium wastes and separated plutonium are scheduled to make similar transit.
Greenpeace calls for a world-wide ban on the production of all plutonium--whether military or civil--in its campaign to halt nuclear weapons production and proliferation. The organization is encouraging countries around the world to call for a halt to the plutonium industry at the Extension Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which will be in April at the United Nations in New York.
If additional information on the Pacific Pintail's voyage or it's cargo of plutonium waste is required, please contact Bas Bruyne on the Solo (phone: ++871-1301166--Warning $10 per minute), or Karen Richardson at Greenpeace UK (phone: ++44-171-226-3151). Photo, video or other media requests to Blair Palese or Mark Warford at Greenpeace Communications (phone: ++44-171-8330-600).
Media and others interested in tracking the shipment's route daily should access Greenpeace World Wide Web site at: HTTP://WWW.greenpeace.org/
Best regards and No Nukes!
Ulf Birgander (Captain)
Bas Bruyne (Campaigner)
