Maritime shipments of highly radioactive material between Europe and Japan

This article examines, in the wake of the Fukushima incident, the adequacy of operational safeguards and national and international control measures and oversight established to mitigate the health and safety and environmental risks posed by the ultra-hazardous shipments of highly radioactive materials between Europe and Japan. It describes the technical measures taken to ensure safety, primarily through package design and secondarily by way of ship design and ship-based measures. It then critically examines the international regulatory requirements and guidance for package design and ship-based measures, including those governing loss, monitoring and possible recovery of cargoes in the deep waters normally frequented, or elsewhere at sea. Finally it considers the pressures from many concerned en route states (and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) for further regulation, notably in the form of routing restrictions, prior authorisation or informed consent regimes or notification regimes.