Nuclear security – briefing note
1. Departing St Petersburg, Russia, on 29 February 2024 bound for Philadelphia, USA, the Atlantic Navigator II made an unscheduled stop in Rostock, Germany, on 4 March due to damage to its propeller.
She left Rostock on 19 April after repairs and a customs inspection. This multipurpose cargo ship is carrying 241 containers of birch plywood from the exploitation of Arctic forests and enriched uranium.
Despite the war in Ukraine and tensions between the United States of America and the Russian Federation, trade in nuclear materials has not stopped, and Russian enriched uranium continues to supply fuel for some American nuclear power stations.
The Bomb
The first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is taking place in Vienna (Austria) from today. The list of the 62 State parties is attached.
Austria, Ireland, Malta and the Holy See stand out as representing Europe in this Treaty.
Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland are participating in the Vienna meeting as observers, thus showing their interest in this Treaty, which is based on the Chemical Weapons Convention.
None of the nuclear weapon States are present in Vienna. France, the UK and the USA even issued a joint statement on July 7, 2017, totally against the Treaty. ” France, the United Kingdom and the United States have not taken part in the negotiation of the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. We do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it…”
