Pacific Egret welcomed into home port

Wednesday, 15 September 2010 Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL) - a subsidiary of International Nuclear Services (INS) - has taken delivery of its newest ship, the Pacific Egret, in Barrow-in-Furness, UK. It is the second of three new UK-flagged vessels ordered by PNTL to fulfill its commitments to transport nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from Europe to Japan. The company took delivery of the Pacific Heron in 2008, which was designed specifically to carry mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel to Japan, while the Pacific Grebe, will be delivered later in 2010. The Pacific Egret will undergo a period of fitting out and trials before entering full service next year. Alastair Brown, operations director at INS, commented: "The UK has a world-class expertise and 40-year heritage in the safe and secure transport of nuclear materials." He added, "The arrival of the Pacific Egret represents the continuance of that heritage and the reinforcement of that expertise in Barrow-in-Furness, which will enable INS ands PNTL to continue to fulfill their contracts with customers in Japan for the next two decades." The new INF 3 class vessel was built by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding at its Tamano shipyard in Japan, where it was launched in January.