Section f Case Study

21. Protest Flotilla to Intercept Plutonium Shipment in the Channel

Background information

The British-registered ships, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, which belong to state-owned British Nuclear Fuels, have been specially built to transport nuclear waste and fuel. The ships which are double-hulled, each guarded by 13 commandos and armed with 30 mm cannons, are designed to protect each other They are transporting more than 300 lb of plutonium, taken from the decommissioned nuclear missiles, from America to France where it will be converted for use as commercial fuel. If successful, America wants to transfer tons of plutonium to Europe. At the end of the Cold War, America and Russia promised to dispose of more than 60 tons of the material from dismantled nuclear weapons.

Problem

The ships with more than 300 lb of plutonium with no military escort were to pass within 16 miles of the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset on 29 September, 2007. Maritime trade, shipment of commercial nuclear fuel from nuclear weapons is a real threat to the environment and life on the Earth itself.

The Flotilla is at the greatest risk of terrorist attack in the Channel, through which more than 400 trade vessels pass each day. Greenpeace and other environmental organizations have been questioning the prudence of transporting such dangerous material by sea, especially in view of the increased threat of terrorism.

Dr. Frank Barnaby, a former nuclear physicist, at the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment writes an article to express his protest on the issue saying that the effective coordinated international actions are needed to combat the offenders. It should also be of great concern to the Admiralty Law, which we know to be Maritime Law.

Tasks

Task 1. First you with your partners, then with the counterparts and then with the arbitration lawyers work out the possible suggestions to resolve the dispute according to the International Law of the Sea:

A. You as the members of the Maritime Environmental group are planning to join the “nuclear free Irish Sea flotilla” to intercept the boats when they pass the Irish Sea and when they enter the port of Cherbourg on the north coast of France.

B. You as the members of the Greenpeace group of protesters hope to muster a flotilla to intercept two ships carrying enough weapons grade plutonium to make 40 nuclear bombs when they sail into the English Channel.

C. You as the fighters for peace are ready to express their concerns about nuclear prevention and terrorism and work out their demand for the moratorium on plutonium shipments by sea with which they will address the Arbitration Court.

Task 2. Now try your best to succeed in making a decision against weapon-grade plutonium shipment by sea as a crucial international activity.

a) You as the owners of the ships insist that you comply with the strictest maritime security regulations and give reasons to negotiate further plutonium transportation by sea.

b) You as the parties to the contract with You as the arbitrators of the International London Court of International Arbitration are trying to resolve the dispute on the problem of further plutonium shipment at sea. Detail by detail you and the lawyers are arguing it out and sign.

Brainstorming session

When you start the negotiations brainstorm the following legal negotiation procedure bits:

- What are we (the two sides) going to put in for the dispute resolution?

- What do your national lawyers advise?

- What do the Arbitration Court Regulations say?