Swedish ship makes first shipment

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

SKB's new vessel for transporting used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste by sea, the M/S Sigrid, has made its first shipment. It replaces the smaller M/S Sigyn, which had been in service since 1982.

Sigyn's replacement, Sigrid (Image: Furetank Rederi)

Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB) - the company responsible for storing Swedish nuclear waste – decided in December 2010 to build a new purpose-built ship as a replacement to the Sigyn. The Sigyn has been used for over three decades to transport used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from Swedish nuclear power plants to storage facilities near Oskarshamn and Forsmark. It has also transported low- and intermediate-level from the Studsvik research centre.

Designed by Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands, the Sigrid was built in Galati, Romania and its hull was launched in October 2012. Following outfitting, the vessel was delivered to Sweden, arriving at Ringhals in early December 2013.

The Sigrid recently completed its first shipment of radioactive material, transporting used fuel from the Ringhals nuclear power plant to the CLAB interim storage facility in Oskarshamn.

At 99.5 metres long and 18.6 metres wide, the Sigrid is slightly larger than the Sigyn. It is capable of carrying twelve nuclear waste containers, compared with the ten that Sigyn could hold. SKB noted that various adjustments have been made at the ports of Sweden's nuclear power plants to allow Sigrid to dock and load cargo.

SKB said that all shipments will now be made using Sigrid which, although owned by SKB, is operated by Furetank Rederi AB. Sigyn is currently docked in the port of Donso but SKB said it plans to eventually sell the ship.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News