One of the Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL) fleet of ships used for transporting nuclear fuel between the UK and Japan has been taken out of service and sent for recycling.

The Pacific Teal has been used to transport a range of nuclear materials between Europe and Japan since 1982. The Teal 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.

John Clarke, Managing Director of International Nuclear Services 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.

“PNTL has successfully completed over 170 shipments in the last 30 years, with the ships safely covering more than five million miles without a single incident resulting in the release of radioactivity, and the Pacific Teal has played a big part in this success. The ship will be replaced by the Pacific Heron.”

The decommissioning of the Teal is being undertaken safely and in the most environmentally friendly way possible – all of the steel from the vessel will be recycled.

The method that will be used satisfies all the internationally recognised regulations and guidelines for this kind of operation. These include the Basel Convention, the International Maritime Organisation’s recommendations on ship recycling and the International Chamber of Shipping’s code of practice. It also satisfies the UK Environment Agency’s Waste Export Regulations.

For more information contact:

Sellafield Communications

Steve Barnes
+44 (0)1925 833249

Ali McKibbin
+44 (0) 19467 85839

Ben Todd
+44 (0) 1925 834431

About PNTL

Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited’s ships are dedicated to the transportation of nuclear material that is classified by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) of the United Nations at its highest level of INF 3 class. The INF Code regulates shipments by sea of packaged irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high level radioactive wastes.

PNTL has successfully completed over 170 shipments in the last 30 years. In each case, the nuclear material is shipped in specially designed packages known as ‘casks’ or ‘flasks’. The ships have safely covered more than 5 million miles and there has never been a single incident resulting in the release of radioactivity. Over 2,000 casks of nuclear material have been safely transported by PNTL.

PNTL operates as a subsidiary company of International Nuclear Services Ltd. PNTL is owned by International Nuclear Services Ltd, Areva and a number of Japanese companies.

About International Nuclear Services Ltd and Sellafield Ltd

International Nuclear Services Ltd manages the contracts and logistics for nuclear fuel recycling products and services for UK and overseas customers. It is 51 per cent owned by Sellafield Ltd and 49 per cent owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Sellafield Ltd is a management and operations contractor delivering accelerated clean-up programmes safely and cost-effectively to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Sellafield is contracted to procure, manage and operate the PNTL fleet on behalf of PNTL.

For more information:
www.sellafieldsites.com
www.pntl.co.uk
www.innuserv.com