Uranium exports regularly routed through NZ ports

New Zealand ports have become a regular shipping route for Australian yellowcake uranium ore bound for the United States and France.

About one ship a year has been stopping over in New Zealand for the past 20 years but this has recently increased to almost weekly visits, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed yesterday.

A total of five approvals to the three companies operating uranium mines in Australia have been granted since March. One approved application seen by the Herald allows fortnightly shipments, another allows shipments any time.

The route via New Zealand may have become a preferred option, possibly for security reasons. Each shipment carries hundreds of tonnes. The approved ports are Auckland, Tauranga, Napier and Nelson.

Many politicians were unaware until recently of the visits, including Environment Minister Nick Smith and Labour leader Phil Goff, who both played down the shipments in TV3 interviews.

Mr Smith said the material was "not much more than Australian dirt" and there was no risk to health.

Mr Goff, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence in the last Government, said he was confident that once processed, the ore would be used for peaceful purposes, although he acknowledged that he could not be sure.

However, one of Mr Goff's MPs, disarmament spokesman Phil Twyford, said it could not be assumed the byproduct of processing the ore, depleted uranium, would not end up in weapons.

The approvals granted this year run until 2014.

The uranium ore, which is in powder form, is in sealed barrels inside containers and must remain stored below deck during the stopovers in New Zealand.