Plutonium Ships Ignore Pacific Island Nation’s Opposition And Breach Exclusive Economic Zone
Federated States of Micronesia, 13 July, 2002: British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) plutonium ships’ breached the Federated
States of Micronesia’s 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at 9:50 this morning (FSM time) against that
nations’ stated wishes, Greenpeace revealed today. The shipment of reject plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is in transit
between Japan and the United Kingdom.
“Greenpeace today witnessed the Governments of Japan and UK arrogantly disregard the legitimate call by a Pacific
sovereign nation to keep out of their Exclusive Economic Zone,” said Simon Boxer, Greenpeace International nuclear
campaigner.
“The irresponsibility and arrogance of sending this dangerous shipment through the Pacific by Japan and the UK must not
go unpunished. Legal redress can and should be sought through the international courts by all en-route nations
especially in the Pacific to prohibit this unjustifiable trade.”
Greenpeace predicts that over the next ten days the ships will breach other Pacific Island Nations EEZs despite their
opposition.
These breaches are also occurring in contravention of the requirements of United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea (1).
Greenpeace, using a small aircraft, found the ships at x co- ordinates sailing at x knots on a bearing of x degrees (2).
A flotilla of twelve yachts, which left on Sunday 7 July, are sailing into the Tasman Sea to protest against the
shipment. The yachts from Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu, will gather next week in the northern Tasman Sea and wait
for the two ships as they pass through the Tasman Sea.
For the Federated States of Micronesia statement: http://www.greenpeace.org.nz/gpnz1/campaigns/Nuclear/micr onesia.asp
(1) United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea says, which stipulates the shipping nations have legal obligations
to engage in meaningful consultation on matters such as emergency contingency plans and to conduct an environmental
impact assessment and should include detailed routing and timing information to the emergency and marine safety
authorities of each en route state.
(2) Two UK lightly armed nuclear freighters, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal carrying the cargo of faulty MOX,
including 255 kgs of weapons-usable plutonium, left Japan on Thursday. The shipment of faulty MOX is being returned to
the UK because its producers, the government-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), falsified critical safety data on the
fuel and the Japanese refused to use it.