Sri Lanka detects nuclear material - Uranium hexafluoride - on China-bound vessel docked at Hambantota

 

The vessel was found to be carrying Uranium hexafluoride, which is classified under “dangerous cargo”.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday detected radioactive material on a China-bound vessel berthed at the southern Hambantota Port. The vessel has been asked to leave the Port, according to officials, as the shipping company failed to obtain prior clearance for “dangerous cargo”, as per Sri Lankan law.

When contacted, Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva confirmed the development.Officials said a local shipping company, handling the vessel sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to China, cited a “mechanical emergency” and sought permission from the harbor manager at the China-run Hambantota Port. However, the company did not declare that the cargo was radioactive material, a requirement under Sri Lanka’s Atomic Energy Act.