Nuclear Shipment Heads To Sea After Protest

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Monday July 19 11:58 AM ET 

Nuclear Shipment Heads To Sea After Protest

LONDON (Reuters) - A nuclear shipment, which had been prevented by 
activists from leaving harbor in northwest England, finally headed to 
sea Monday on the first leg of its journey to Japan, British Nuclear 
Fuels Ltd (BNFL) said.  

``I can confirm that (the ship Pacific) Teal is on its way. It has 
moved out of the harbor and is out in the open sea,'' a spokesman for 
BNFL told Reuters. He said he did not know if a second ship had left 
harbor yet.  

Earlier, the Pacific Teal was forced to return to its berth at Barrow 
because of safety concerns sparked by an overnight protest by the 
environmental group Greenpeace.  

Seven people were arrested after activists used a huge floating 
effigy of an elephant to halt the shipment. Greenpeace said later
it would not make another attempt to stop the ships leaving the 
harbor.

``Our plans are not to impede the safe navigation of these vessels. 
Our plan is to document this obscene transport,'' Mike Townsley told 
Reuters from the MV Greenpeace vessel at Barrow.  

The Pacific Teal is due to head for Cherbourg, France, en route to 
Japan, where the plutonium fuel is to be loaded into nuclear 
reactors. Greenpeace, which has also warned of disaster if the two 
ships sank or were hijacked, said the combined cargo could be 
converted into 60 bombs. 

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
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