Nuclear Waste Ships - Update

In April (see below) we reported on the Nuclear Waste Transport Ship Pacific Grebe returning to Barrow following protests in Germany this latest update reports on the Grebe's sister ship Egret...

Report from Elfed:

When information was revealed that nuclear cargo carrying ships based at Barrow in Furness in Cumbria were being met with demonstrations at ports in Germany, a decision was made to find out whether they were sailing around the Welsh coast and through the very busy and congested English Channel.
Suspicions arose that the ships were using ports elsewhere instead, when the Pacific Egret was picked up on a marine tracker app. setting sail through the Western Islands and around the north coast of Scotland. It turned out that it was heading for Fredrickshaven in Denmark.
Detailed information about why and if it was carrying any cargo was not available, in the event it seems that it was making the voyage to get some kind of maintenance carried out.
Whilst at the haven , the ship spent some time in the dry dock facility which was available there. The Egret returned to Barrow in Furness via the reverse passage and arrived back on Sat 31st May. At this moment in time the Egret, Heron and Grebe are all three moored and no information is available about if and when they will be sailing again to Germany or anywhere else !

Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd operates three vessels, Pacific Heron, Pacific Egret and Pacific Grebe. These are the latest generation of INF3 class PNTL vessels dedicated to nuclear transports fitted with naval cannons on deck and often accompanied by a heavily-armed security squad - provided by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary's Strategic Escort Group.

postscript…

it would appear that there is something “ fishy “ going on with the nuclear ships Egret and Heron too.? Yesterday (8th June) the Egret left port and was last evening heading north near the Isle of Man. On checking the tracker this morning, it appears that the Heron also left sometime and at the moment both are still off the Island but the Heron is returning to Barrow. There is no information about the Egrets destination other than Irish Sea. It’s very doubtful if they are dumping anything and might be experiencing more mechanical problems ??? ( Perhaps the Captain of the Egret left without his butty bag ? )

and … Egret has now changed course from what it was on yesterday and slowed down... AIS says destination irish sea....which is vague to say the least... but is currently on course to collide with/cross course of two unidentified "cargo ships" (not named or characterised further. Heron currently on course to (possibly) intercept either or all three of the above AIS says destination Barrow

Possible that all of this is just an exercise or training run?

Previously.. Apr 09, 2025

Nuclear Waste Transport Ship, Pacific Grebe Returns to Barrow This Morning Following Protests in Germany.

Much of the German nuclear waste has of course ended up in the Irish Sea down the reprocessing pipe line.

Pacific Grebe Returning to Barrow Dock this morning - image by Phil Todkill

“Seven containers filled with nuclear waste were transferred from ship to train in northern Germany for transport to Bavaria. But Germany still has no permanent storage solution for its radioactive material”. The “Nuclear waste returns to Germany amid protests”. Matt Ford article can be read here

While protests have taken place in Germany at the return of the reprocessed spent nuclear fuel, the response in the UK has been nonchalant to the transport of high level nuclear wastes by rail, road and ship. "Every castor container carries enormous risk," said Helge Bauer from the protest group Ausgestrahlt,which means "radiated."

Barrow was not always so nonchalant with a vigorous campaign and legal action against the use of the port to transport nuclear wastes in the 1980s with a petition of 14,000 local people opposing the nuclear waste movements by ship.

Barrow Action Group (later transformed to Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment and funded by Greenpeace) vigorously campaigned and challenged in court the construction by British Nuclear Fuels (now called Great British Nuclear) of a £6m dock extension in the town to accommodate nuclear waste ships docking less than 2km from a gas terminal.

Barrow Town Council passed a resolution opposing the shipments entering the port of Barrow and made repeated requests to BNFL that they should be kept informed of BNFL’s every move in Barrow. BNFL failed to do this and in November 1980 started to construct their terminal without telling the local authority.

BNFL denied that an accident could happen; however, a report from the Safety and Reliability Directorate (a subsidiary of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority admitted that : –

“We believe that a substantial spill of condensate during loading could possibly result in fire engulfment of a ship unloading spent nuclear fuel flasks at the BNFL facility within the same dock basin.”

The costs of the legal action Barrow Action Group took was £10,000. If the case had been won it would have damaged the importing of nuclear waste to the then Windscale plant as well as jeopardising BNFLs contract business with reactors in the UK and overseas. Reactors like the ones in Germany where protests continue at the return of reprocessed spent nuclear fuel. Many countries do not want their spent fuel back at any price - or the plutonium resulting from reprocessing.

The UK has now included plutonium (the result of reprocessing) in the inventory for burial under the Lake District Coast.

Plutonium from European countries is earmarked for dangerous deep burial under the Lake District Coast on which campaigners are petitioning Cumberland Councillors to hold a full debate and vote.

As the following FOI request indicates the German waste returned is just a drop in the ocean to the huge amount of foreign plutonium the UK government aim to bury under the seabed - and this doesn’t include the tens of tonnes of plutonium held at Sellafield for Japan who has not designated their plutonium as “waste” but also, understandably, are in no hurry to have it back.

Case Ref: 20250875

Dear Travis Hesketh,.

Thank you for your email and for providing clarification so quickly.

Please find below the information held by the NDA as a result of our investigation.

Following the UK Government’s policy decision to immobilise the UK’s inventory of civil separated plutonium at Sellafield, the NDA group will continue progressing research and development work to identify the preferred technology for immobilisation, converting the material to an even safer and more stable form ready for final disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

• Amount (weight) of plutonium currently stored in UK facilities planned to be disposed of in GDF

Answer: We have assumed in our answer that the question refers to civil separated plutonium currently held by the NDA. In the 2022 Inventory for Geological Disposal there are currently 115 tonnes of civil separated plutonium held by NDA that could be disposed of in GDF.

• List of the amount of plutonium destined for GDF that is/has been owned by overseas entities.

Answer: Since 2012 NDA has taken title to some 10.1 tonnes of plutonium that was previously owned by NDA’s European reprocessing customers at Sellafield.

The transfers were:

• 2012 4 tonnes Plutonium

• 2013 2.95 tonnes Plutonium

• 2014 0.94 tonnes Plutonium

• 2017 0.605 tonnes Plutonium

• 2024 1.58 tonnes Plutonium*

*We expect to update the 2025 IGD to reflect that this material could be disposed of to a GDF. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-02-26/hcws472