Ship Arrives in Charleston, South Carolina with Nuclear Cargo Destined to be Stranded at the Savannah River Site; Cargo of Plutonium from Germany (Karlsruhe) and Switzerland (Paul Scherrer Institut) in Advance of Nuclear Security Summit (Washington, March 31-April 1, 2016)
UK-Flagged Oceanic Pintail Arrives from Europe on February 14, Departs February 15
Now that this Plutonium Cat has been let out of the Nuclear Bag the Wind has been Knocked Out of any Claim of this being a Non-Proliferation Success at the Nuclear Security Summit
Meanwhile, the Pacific Heron and Pacific Egret are Nearing Japan, to Pick Up 331 kg of Plutonium to Take to SRS, where it will also be Stranded – see most recent news here
Photo: Oceanic Pintail, aka the “Bobtail,” departing Charleston on February 15, ©SRS Watch (can be used with credit)
Columbia, South Carolina – A ship dedicated to transport of nuclear materials arrived in the port of Charleston, South Carolina on February 14, with a secret cargo of nuclear materials bound for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), according to Savannah River Site Watch, which witnessed the departure of the vessel. (See photos linked in “notes” below and at https://www.srswatch.org/photos.html).
The U.K.-flagged Oceanic Pintail delivered its cargo to the non-public dock in the Joint Base Charleston and departed on February 15 after 12-hour layover at a South Carolina Ports Authority pier. The Pintail is one of but four specialized ships dedicated to nuclear cargo transport and which are based in Barrow-in-Furness, U.K., near the U.K’s Sellafield nuclear site.
The cargo remains officially secret but is believed to consist of U.S.-origin plutonium from Germany and Switzerland, possibly in the form of unirradiated plutonium fuel (MOX). DOE is likely bringing the material into SRS at this time in order to make an announcement about it at the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington, DC from March 31-April 1. That announcement will avoid to touchy issue of there being no viable or funded manner for disposal of the material at SRS, meaning it has come into South Carolina with no plans for its exit, making the shipment a hollow nuclear non-proliferation “success,” according to SRS Watch.