PNTL Fleet

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PNTL is the world’s most experienced shipper of nuclear cargoes. It was incorporated on 29 September 1975 and has successfully completed over 170 shipments of used nuclear fuel, vitrified high-level waste, mixed oxide (MOX) fuel and plutonium.

Electricity utilities in Japan manage their used nuclear fuel by sending it to facilities in the United Kingdom and France for processing and waste conditioning. Used nuclear fuel from Japan has been shipped to Europe since 1969, with the initial shipments being undertaken on chartered vessels. PNTL was established in 1975 to provide a dedicated reliable and safe maritime transportation system between Europe and Japan. PNTL’s first ship, the Pacific Fisher, was a modified vessel that operated from 1978-1985.

PNTL developed and introduced a fleet of purpose-built ships, the Pacific Swan (1979), Pacific Crane (1980), Pacific Teal (1982), Pacific Sandpiper (1985) and Pacific Pintail (1987). The Pacific Swan, Pacific Crane and Pacific Teal have completed their contractual obligations and have been retired from service.

The ships were designed after wide consultation with Lloyds of London, the Salvage Association and leading salvage companies. They have cargo compartments protected by a double hull configuration and duplication and separation of all essential systems. This means that if any important system fails during a voyage, there is always a back-up ready to be brought into operation.

The original PNTL ship design formed the basis of the INF Code for shipping nuclear material that was established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1993 and became mandatory in January 2001. PNTL operated to the INF standards twenty years before they were introduced as an IMO requirement.

Vitrified waste has been shipped back to Japan for storage since 1995, and MOX fuel, containing materials recovered from used fuel, was first shipped to Japan in 1999.

With a thirty-year record of reliability and a special focus on safety, PNTL has earned a reputation for utmost dependability and for operating ships that are among the safest on the seas today. This reputation was further enhanced in 2008 with the introduction of the Pacific Heron, the first of three new purpose-built vessels which continue PNTL's pioneering tradition.

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