Norwegian government ‘very critical’ of Russian plan to sail floating nuclear reactor along Norway’s coast

The Norwegian Government very critical of  Russian plans to transport the floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov along the Norwegian coast during the summer of 2018 and is now approaching Russian authorities about the matter.

Norway will request information about other and alternative means of transportation from the Russians, Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende says in a statement.

“I will also ask Russian authorities not to install the reactor fuel until the towing has been concluded,” he said. “From a Norwegian point of view, we will argue that towing without the nuclear fuel is a far better solution from a safety point of view.”

Russia recently announced its plans for hauling the floating nuclear power plant all the way from St. Petersburg to Murmansk, and thus along most of the Norwegian coastline, in the summer of 2018.

Brende says he will discuss the matter with the other Nordic countries in the immediate future and also put it on the agenda in various international forums.

“This will be one out of several important issues raised in the annual meeting of the Norwegian-Russian Commission for Nuclear Safety, which takes place in Kirkenes next week,” he says.

Brende will be attending parts of the Kirkenes meeting.