Ship modified for transport of used MOX fuel

French nuclear fuel company Orano's TN Eagle flask design - 5 metres long, 3 metres in diameter, weighing 150 tonnes - was approved by the French Nuclear Safety Authority in 2020 and by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November 2023. Orano has received numerous orders for several dozen TN Eagle casks from French and international customers.

The Pacific Grebe is the first in Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited's (PNTL's) fleet to be adapted to accommodate the new flask.

The engineering challenge of fitting the package, which is the largest ever transported by PNTL's parent company, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), was undertaken by the organisation's transport experts and specialist engineers.

An adapter plate was produced to ensure the cargo would securely fit within the ship's hold. This required millimetre precision, along with the manufacture of a specialist tool to ensure the ship's removable decks aligned perfectly with the new TN Eagle flask, which would carry the material.

Following initial trials at Barrow Marine Terminal in Cumbria, UK, a full-scale test fitting took place in Cherbourg, France, using the specialist vessel operated by PNTL, NTS's specialist shipping division. The was successfully placed in the ship's various holds to check compatibility.

"This has been a fantastic collaborative effort between NTS and PNTL," said NTS Director of Shipping Conner Love. "It demonstrates the world-leading expertise we possess in nuclear shipping and engineering. We are proud to have worked on the successful completion of this project, but this is just the beginning as we embark on a series of vital spent fuel movements around the globe."

Another of PNTL's ships, Pacific Egret, will be adapted in the near future to transport the new flask.

PNTL is owned mainly by NTS - part of the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - and partly by Orano and a consortium of Japanese utilities which use its services.

PNTL operates three diesel-powered specialist ships for the transport of high-level waste and other nuclear material: the Pacific Heron, the Pacific Egret and the Pacific Grebe. So far, PNTL has shipped more than 2000 nuclear casks some 5 million miles to countries including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.