A Russian nuclear-powered cargo ship bound for Antarctica has been forced to turn back after sustaining damage, and will bypass Europe before undergoing repairs, state nuclear agency Rosatom said Wednesday.

Green activists have expressed concern that the vessel will be sailing past several European countries on its way home during the winter storm season.

The Sevmorput vessel had to turn around on December 2 and is travelling towards the Russian port city of Saint Petersburg at a speed of 10 knots, Rosatom said.

The vessel was forced to stop off the coast of Angola for "repairs of the propeller and rudder system", Rosatom told AFP, explaining that the propeller lost one of its blades.

During maintainance work that lasted three weeks due to unfavourable weather conditions, another propeller blade was cut off to remove the imbalance, the nuclear agency added.

Rosatom added that the ship was seaworthy and its nuclear reactor was operating without any complications.

But the French environmental group Robin Hood expressed concern Monday about Sevmorput's route, noting that it would pass 14 European countries on its way to Saint Petersburg.

Sevmorput's journey past Europe will be taking place during "winter storms in the North Atlantic", the organisation said in a statement.

There was "no coordinated plan between EU countries to prevent the floating nuclear power plant from drifting" or over arranging another port for the vessel to dock, it added.

According to the Marine Traffic tracking website, Sevmorput is currently in the Atlantic Ocean between the Canary Islands and the Moroccan coast. It estimated it would take several weeks to get back home.

Sevmorput is Russia's only active nuclear-powered cargo ship, a 260-metre-long vessel commissioned during the Soviet era and completed in 1988.

It returned to service in 2016 after extensive repairs.

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Framatome and Schweitzer to provide digital protection relays to nuclear power plants
Paris, France (SPX) Dec 15, 2020
Framatome and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) signed a teaming agreement to provide digital protection relays and turnkey protection relay upgrades to the nuclear industry. This agreement combines the companies' expertise in electrical distribution protection and nuclear power plant system integration to support the long-term operation of the nuclear fleet. Numerical (digital) protection relays are designed to detect undesirable electrical conditions and initiate one or more actions to p ... read more