Nuclear fuel transport: Value chain
The handful of firms that design casks and run nuclear ships
What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.A small, specialised industry designs and licenses casks, runs dedicated ships and trains, and works under tight oversight by national regulators applying IAEA rules.
The chain
Package and cask designers Shipbuilders Sea and land carriers Fuel suppliers and storage operators Regulators and rule makers| Stage | What happens | Leading companies |
|---|---|---|
| Package and cask designers | Design, test and license Type A, Type B and UF6 packages | Orano NPS (France) GNS (Germany) NAC International (United States, owned by Kanadevia, formerly Hitachi Zosen, Japan) Holtec International (United States)15712 |
| Shipbuilders | Build double-hulled INF Code vessels | Damen Shipyards (Netherlands)1 |
| Sea and land carriers | Operate dedicated nuclear cargo ships, trains and lorries | Nuclear Transport Solutions, including PNTL (UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) Orano NCS (Germany) Nuclear Fuel Transport Co. (Japan) Rosatomflot (Russia) SKB (Sweden) CNNC (China)112 |
| Fuel suppliers and storage operators | Ship enriched uranium and receive spent fuel | Centrus Energy (United States) Interim Storage Partners (Waste Control Specialists and Orano CIS, United States)45 |
| Regulators and rule makers | Set and enforce package and dose rules | IAEA (international) US Nuclear Regulatory Commission French nuclear safety authority (ASN, merged into ASNR in 2025) IMO (INF Code)167 |
Over 150 Type B designs are certified, and larger casks cost around USD 1.6 million each, so a handful of experienced designers dominate. PNTL, owned mainly by the UK's International Nuclear Services (now part of the NDA's Nuclear Transport Solutions) with Japanese utilities and Areva (now Orano), has made over 180 shipments in about 40 years.
End users are reactor operators, which buy fuel delivered and, in most countries, hand spent fuel to a national agency. The names here are members of the World Nuclear Transport Institute or firms named by WNA, not a market-share ranking.
Sources
- Transport of Radioactive Materials (updated August 2026) World Nuclear Association, 2026
- US Supreme Court rules on interim storage facility case World Nuclear News, 2025
- Orano begins production of LEU+ transport cylinders World Nuclear News, 2025
- SSR-6 (Rev. 2): Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, 2025 Edition World Nuclear Transport Institute (reporting IAEA), 2025
- ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024: transport of radioactive substances ASN (French Nuclear Safety Authority), 2025
- WNTI Today 2024 (member list) World Nuclear Transport Institute, 2024