Repatriation Transport from England: Ship passage has begun

Yesterday evening the "Pacific Grebe", a dedicated vessel for the transport of radioactive materials, left the English port of Barrow-in-Furness. On board are six casks containing radioactive waste from the reprocessing of German fuel elements in Sellafield, England. Previously, the casks of the type CASTOR^® HAW28M had been transported by rail from the reprocessing plant in Sellafield to the port about 65 km away and loaded onto the ship there.

The "Pacific Grebe" was commissioned in 2010 and is the youngest vessel in the PNTL fleet. It was only in August 2020 that the British Sea and Coast Guard extended the INF3 status, the highest safety class for the sea transport of highly radioactive substances, of the "Pacific Grebe" for another five years as part of a comprehensive inspection.

In the next few days, the ship will moor in a German seaport where the casks will be transferred from the ship to railway wagons for further transport to the federal interim storage facility in Biblis.

The repatriation transport had originally been planned for the spring, but had to be postponed due to the emerging COVID 19 situation.