"On July 21, 1959, former US First Lady Mamie Eisenhower smashed a champagne bottle against the towering hull of the NS Savannah before the newly built ship slid into the Delaware River, carrying with it the lofty promise that shipping would be changing forever. Rather than having a conventional diesel engine in its machine room, the Savannah was powered by a nuclear reactor."
"The NS Savanna was meant to be a symbol of modern timesImage: US Department of Energy Today, only a few countries still operate nuclear-powered ships, and mostly for military uses in aircraft carriers and submarines. Russia continues to employ a small fleet of nuclear icebreakers on the so-called Northern Sea Route in the Arctic, for example. Cargo vessels, let alone passenger ships, that run on nuclear fuel have all but disappeared. But some people are convinced the time has come to bring them back."
"Merchant ships carry about 80% of all internationally traded goods, which makes them indispensable to keeping the global economy running. But the majority still run on bunker oil, a thick, tar-like fuel made from crude oil, and have smokestacks that spew toxic pollutants into their air. Collectively, they emit as much climate-changing CO2 as the entire country of Japan. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is responsible for global shipping, wants the sector to reach net zero emissions by around 2050."
The NS Savannah launched in 1959 and operated with a nuclear reactor instead of a conventional diesel engine, carrying passengers and cargo between 1962 and 1970 to showcase peaceful nuclear propulsion. Today, nuclear propulsion survives mainly in military vessels and a small fleet of Russian icebreakers on the Northern Sea Route, while nuclear cargo and passenger ships have largely disappeared. Merchant shipping moves about 80% of internationally traded goods and primarily uses bunker oil, producing CO2 emissions comparable to a large country. The IMO targets net-zero maritime emissions by about 2050, and batteries or alternative fuels alone appear insufficient, prompting renewed interest in nuclear options.
Read at www.dw.com
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