Greenpeace in port to lead MOX fuel demo
Two armed ships, one carrying flasks of plutonium-based MOX fuel and the other providing an escort, are due to enter the Irish Sea early next month on a return journey from Japan to the Sellafield nuclear power plant in Britain.
The Japanese authorities demanded that the waste be shipped back to Sellafield after it arrived in their waters in 1999 amid the revelation that safety records at the Cumbrian facility had been falsified.
Anti-nuclear activists say the shipment is in breach of Ireland's nuclear policies and fear the ships may be a target for terrorist attack in the run-up to the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Greenpeace, who have tracked the vessels since their departure from Japan last month, will formally launch the Irish leg of their campaign against the shipments in Dublin on Wednesday.
A show of strength by a grouping of environmentalists and activists called the Nuclear Free Seas Flotilla will follow in Dublin Bay next Sunday, when a fleet of small boats will sail from Dun Laoghaire to the Kish Lighthouse to protest at the shipments.
All sailing and fishing clubs and private boat owners around the country are being invited to take part in the protest, and a large participation by coastal communities along the East coast is expected. Next week, as the two ships approach the Irish Sea, a smaller flotilla of ocean-going boats will travel towards Cumbria to meet them and stage an open sea protest.
Sellafield operators, British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), which has already met protests in the seas off Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, has rejected critics' claims that the shipment is a hazard, saying the specially-designed transport ships are among the most secure anywhere in the world. However, the Green Party, which plans to have a number of Dáil deputies on board the flotillas, reject BNFL's assurances. "BNFL is in the business of telling people to stay asleep," said party leader Trevor Sargent. "They say don't worry, that they're looking after things, but their safety record does not give any cause for confidence."
Deputy Sargent accused the Government of taking the issue lying down. BNFL have refused to disclose the exact route the ships will take for security reasons and a statement from the Government said only that the shipment was "not expected" to enter the 12-mile zone which represents Irish territorial waters. The statement said officials from the Departments of Environment, Foreign Affairs and Communications had been briefed by British officials about the shipment.
"In the course of that briefing, the issue of security was discussed and assurances were given by the UK that adequate measures were in place to counter any foreseeable threat," it said. Deputy Sargent said: "The Irish Government is once again accepting assurances in lapdog fashion. For it to be seen to be effective, it needs to be throwing down a diplomatic gauntlet and say it cannot co-operate in issues relating to the Irish Sea until this activity ends."
Labour Party marine spokesman Eamon Gilmore called on Marine Minister Dermot Ahern to “use every international convention on marine safety to prevent this shipment from travelling through the Irish Sea”.
“The Minister must assert Ireland’s rights to protect its citizens from dangerous shipments in neighbouring waters and prevent this shipment, which contains enough material to make up to 50 nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that there had been “numerous warnings about the unsafe condition of nuclear storage facilities at Sellafield.”
Nuclear Free Seas Flotilla organiser Ron Van Der Horst said the protests on Sunday and next week would be peaceful: "We have flags and banners and we will fly them. We cannot accompany the ships to port because they are too fast for us, but it is important that we make a stand. The arrogance of BNFL is outrageous, but if public opinion is strong enough, and is seen to be strong enough, they might have to give in."
