Latest news
27
March 2002: BNFL NUCLEAR TRANSPORT SHIP FIRE RAISES SAFETY CONCERNS
London - One of
British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) nuclear transport ships, the Atlantic Osprey
(1) caught fire during its voyage from dry dock in Manchester
to the Irish Sea, it was revealed today.
The fire occured on 25 March 2002 at 12:00 hours in the starboard engine. The crew was unable to suppress the fire by themselves. They activated the ship's fire suppression system and with the assistance of the Salford Fire Department 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.
The ship had recently been in dry dock for modifications and upgrades and was en route to sea trials when the fire took place.
Shaun Burnie, campaigner for Greenpeace International said, "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. However, this clearly demonstrates that it can and does happen.
"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," said Burnie.
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. This 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 owner after it was revealed that BNFL, the producers of the fuel, had deliberately falsified vital Quality Control data.
The ship that caught fire on Monday transported numerous cargoes of plutonium MOX fuel from the German port of Bremerhaven to the Dounreay nuclear complex during the mid-to-late 1990s. There was widespread opposition to the shipment from Greenpeace and politicians in Germany and the UK citing safety and security concerns. In late 2001, the vessel moved hundreds of kilograms of plutonium back from Dounreay to Germany in several voyages across the North Sea.
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 (2).
For more information:
Notes to editors:
1.
The Atlantic
Osprey, formerly MV Arneb was built in Hamburg in 1986, and has a gross
tonnage of 3640 tonnes, a length of 88.57m, and a speed of 13 knots and
is classified by Lloyds Registry as "ice strengthened" and class
INF2 (Irradiated Nuclear
Fuel Code). This will permit the carriage of irradiated fuel, high level
nuclear waste and MOX fuel. In February 2001, it underwent a Port State
Control inspection at Hull where a number of deficiencies were found in
a range of inspection categories, which included
safety in general, fire safety measures and crew certification.
Between November 16th and mid-December the Osprey made four voyages from Scrabster, near Dounreay to the port of Bremerhaven, carrying in total approximately 500 kg of plutonium contained in 82 MOX fuel assemblies.
BNFL
plans to use the ship for transporting plutonium MOX fuel between the
UK and mainland Europe, in particular Germany, as well as shipments to
and from the United States. It is also believed that it will be used to
transport nuclear waste from Dounreay to
Sellafield.
2. The Panamanian Environment Committee is due to vote soon on legislation that would prohibit nuclear transports from using the Panama Canal. Citing safety and security concerns, the nuclear industry has continually refused to conduct environmental impact assessments as required under the United Nations International Law of the Sea.