Hinkley Point C's 500-ton reactor vessel completes journey from France to England

The first reactor pressure vessel for Hinkley Point C has arrived at its destination. For the first time in more than 30 years, the United Kingdom has transported an oversized component for a nuclear power plant. Photos and a video show the delivery of the reactor vessel to the Somerset site in southwest England.

EDF has prepared a series of photos and a time-lapse video covering the final stage of the transport of the 13-meter-long, 500-ton cargo. The reactor pressure vessel was manufactured by Framatome at its Le Creusot plant in Burgundy, central France. EDF said that an expert engineering team spent approximately 80,000 person-hours manufacturing and preparing the vessel.

Transporting the cargo was no easy task. First, a truck hauled the vessel along roads in France. It was then transferred onto a ship, which carried it to the docks in Bristol. From there, another ship took it across the Bristol Channel and up the River Parrett to the village of Combwich.