MOX TRANSPORT BY ROAD AND SEA

Transporting fresh MOX fuel and other category 1 cargoes from the United Kingdom to Continental Europe presents some significant geographical challenges. Specifically there is a sea transport element to be considered between the two land transport segments. As a consequence, preparations to receive the MOX on board a ship need to be made at the departure port. Generally speaking some of these preparations will be visible leading to public communication expectations which are potentially in conflict with security requirements. Management of these conflicting requirements needs to be handled carefully to ensure compliance with regulations while meeting the legitimate communication expectations of stakeholder groups. Shipping operations also tend to be more weather dependent than land transport and this needs to be factored into contingency plans to ensure the transport system is sufficiently resilient to withstand minor delays. Such planning considerations need to be addressed at an early stage to ensure that the resilience is contained within the operational plans of all organisations involved in the transport. The arrival of the ship into the receiving country’s territorial waters and ultimately into the port requires careful co-ordination between governments and industry. These arrangements need to be put in place well in advance to ensure a common understanding of the hand-over of security as well as the practical logistics of delivering the cargo. Throughout the execution of the transport operation, communications between the various organisations involved in the transport and security must be clear and well defined. Inevitably issues will arise requiring the planned contingencies to be brought into play. These might be driven by weather considerations, mechanical breakdown, safety or security considerations. Whatever the cause, the key to success lies in clear contingency plans, agreed lines of communication and prompt decision making based on good information. Successful MOX (and other category 1) transport by road and sea results from extensive operational planning, contingency planning, good communications and co-operation between all the agencies involved to ensure customer expectations of on-time, safe and secure delivery of the material.