Transport of a Russian floating nuclear energy plant along the Norwegian coasts: Norwegian government satisfied by the approach adopted
Norway is used to ship traffic along its coasts, but the announced venue of this vessel has raised particular concerns. In the summer of 2018, the floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, will sail along the Norwegian coasts, as part of its Journey from the Baltic Shipyard of St. Petersburg to Murmansk (where refueling will apparently take place). On 22 July 2017, the Norwegian government announced its satisfaction over the decision made by Rosatom (Russian state nuclear energy Corporation), the operator, that there will not be nuclear fuel on board when the plant will be transported along the coast of Norway (see press release).
Even if projects for floating nuclear power plants - also called Transportable Nuclear Power Plants (TNPP) - were developed in the 1960s, the Akademik Lomonosov will be the first plant of its kind, and pave the way to a new international market segment as other countries have shown interest in the technology.
From a legal point of view, the shipping and operating of floating nuclear power plant raise a series of new questions, because of the nature of the operations carried out onboard, the type of fuel and waste handled and the consequences of any accident or attack on the plant. If the vessel is empty, the transit of the vessel within national or international waters is of no particular concern. The question is however different from the moment when the vessel is fueled or has been fueled. For example, the safety question could be raised by Norwegian authorities if the ship needs to sail back to St. Petersburg for maintenance in a couple of decades from now, and so with possible traces of nuclear fuels onboard, or is transporting nuclear Waste (see to that respect the case of shipment of nuclear waste from Poland to Russia via Norwegian waters in September 2014, link). The assessement of "innocent passage" under the UN Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) in that context might well be different than once the plant is empty. Once it is fuelled, the floating nuclear power plant raise issues in terms of environmental protection for the region, dumping of nuclear waste and vessels, and not least security with respect to terrorist attacks and other threats.
A recent study from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) lists the international law instruments possibly applicable to such vessels. Among those instruments are the different Conventions and guidance documents on:
- nuclear safety: International Convention on Legal Agreements: Convention on Nuclear SAfety, Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, Convention on Assistance in the case of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency; Regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material, etc.
- nuclear security: Convention on the physical protection of nuclear material
- and liability for nuclear damage: Vienna Convention on civil liability for Nuclear damage; Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, as amended.
Some international non-binding requirements and guidance established by the IAEA would also be applicable. Interestingly, the IAEA study recommends that: "the supplier State, the host State, and all involved third countries could agree to conclude an international treay or treaties among themselves ot cover relevant innovative aspects regarding the use of TNPPs that are presently not the object of existing legal norms." (p.7) This conclusion clearly reveals that the legislation, agreements and standards agreed several decades ago probably don't feet the new reality presented by floating nuclear energy plants.
Floating nuclear power plant can be used to supply electricity and heat to remote areas such as Russian Arctic, or to supply electricity to remote energy-intensive activities such as oil and gas production. Previous experiences include the use of a converted U.S. war ship for the purpose of electricity generation in the Panama Canal. Prospects for the sale of floating Nuclear Power plants are actually good around the world, including in countries like China.
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