Ship Containing 255 KG Of Plutonium To Set Sail From Japan to UK
Melbourne Indymedia | 12.06.2002 18:33
As international attention focuses on the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the Japanese government is preparing to send off one of the most controversial shipments in history: two "lightly armed" boats loaded with enough plutonium to make 50 nuclear bombs.
The ships, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, are to embark as early as June 8 on an 18,000 miles journey to England. Greenpeace and dozens of nations along the possible routes have protested the voyage. The Nuclear Free Seas Flotilla will attempt to track the ships on their secret route.
While not unprecedented -- the Pintail and the Teal brought the same load of plutonium to Japan three years ago (a dispute over the quality of the plutonium forced England to take the waste back) -- concerns are much greater after September 11. Critics fear the ships amount to a floating terrorist target. In 1999, Jane's Foreign Report determined the "lightly armed" fleet "is totally inadequate for transporting half a ton of plutonium half way around the world."
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While not unprecedented -- the Pintail and the Teal brought the same load of plutonium to Japan three years ago (a dispute over the quality of the plutonium forced England to take the waste back) -- concerns are much greater after September 11. Critics fear the ships amount to a floating terrorist target. In 1999, Jane's Foreign Report determined the "lightly armed" fleet "is totally inadequate for transporting half a ton of plutonium half way around the world."
Additional Info -
http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/
Melbourne Indymedia
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