The UK Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) has adapted its shipping capability to transport a new nuclear flask, ensuring the safe and secure transportation of used mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (mox) fuel. NTS’s specialist ships, Pacific Grebe, is the first in the fleet to be adapted to accommodate the new flask.
The engineering challenge of fitting the package, which is the largest ever transported by 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 Orano’s new TN Eagle flask, which would carry the material.
The 150-tonne TN Eagle flask is 5 metres long and 3 metres in diameter. It was approved by the French nuclear safety authority (ASN – Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire) in 2020 and by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in November 2023.
Following initial trials at Barrow Marine Terminal, a full-scale test fitting took place in Cherbourg, France, using the Pacific Grebe operated by Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL), NTS’s specialist shipping division.
“This has been a fantastic collaborative effort between NTS and PNTL,” said Conner Love, NTS Director of Shipping. “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.”
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. The Pacific Egret, will also be adapted in the near future to transport the Orano flask.
Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL), established in 1975, is part-owned and operated by Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), a subsidiary of the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). As of 2026, the ownership structure of PNTL is shared between three main entities:
- NTS, the majority shareholder (71.875%). NTS is part of the UK government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
- Orano (12.5%)
- A consortium of Japanese utility companies that utilise PNTL’s services to transport nuclear material between Europe and Japan (15.625%).
The Japanese consortium represents various utility and trading companies including Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco), Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC), Sojitz Corporation and Marubeni Corporation.
