Final journey for nuclear transport ship Pacific Teal

12 February 2008

The Pacific Teal, one of Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd's (PNTL's) fleet of ships for transporting nuclear fuel between Europe and Japan, is on route to the Netherlands for dismantling after being taken out of service in early 2007.

 

PNTL's Pacific TealInternational Nuclear Services Ltd (INS), which owns the majority of PNTL, said in a statement: "The Pacific Teal has been used to transport a range of nuclear materials between Europe and Japan since 1982." The company added, "It has left the port at Barrow and is being towed to the Netherlands where it will be cleaned, dismantled and then broken up for recycling."

 

The Pacific Teal is an INF 3 certified vessel under the INF Code of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). She was fitted with additional security features that enabled her to transport mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel and plutonium dioxide. The Pacific Teal was fitted with fixed naval guns and had other additional physical protection systems, only some of which were visible from the outside.

 

John Clarke, managing director of INS said: "The Pacific Teal has given more than 20 years of excellent service to the PNTL fleet, making a number of important journeys transporting a range of nuclear materials between Europe and Japan." He noted, "PNTL has successfully completed over 170 shipments in the last 30 years, with the ships safely covering more than 5 million miles without a single incident resulting in the release of radioactivity, and the Pacific Teal has played a big part in this success."

 

PNTL donated a range of equipment from the Pacific Teal - from lifeboats and rafts to fire hoses and hydrants, refrigerators and even bedding - to local charities and organizations.

 

It is the third PNTL ship to have been taken out of service and scrapped. The Pacific Crane and Pacific Swan have already been scrapped. The Pacific Pintail, Pacific Sandpiper and Pacific Shearwater are still based at the port of Barrow, UK, but are all due to be replace by 2010-2011 by three brand new ships being constructed in Japan. The first replacement ship, the Pacific Heron, is scheduled to be delivered later this year.

 

PNTL, which operates as a subsidiary company of INS, is 62.5% owned by INS, 12.5% owned by Areva, while a consortium of Japanese nuclear companies hold the remaining 25%. The PNTL fleet is managed by the Sellafield site licence company, Sellafield Ltd.