Nuclear energy has entered the maritime debate with more substance than many expected. At the 31st Captains’ Forum of the Yacht Club de Monaco, held on 25 September 2026 to mark World Maritime Day, 128 superyacht captains and dozens of international experts gathered to discuss the future of marine energy. Among the topics on the table — HVO, ammonia, methanol, hydrogen — it was nuclear propulsion that generated the most substantive discussion.
Nuclear technology at sea is not entirely new. But the reactors currently in development are fundamentally different from those that existing regulations were built around. Engel-Jan de Boer of Lloyd’s Register was direct on this point: the IMO nuclear code exists, but it was designed for older technologies and must evolve to accommodate new reactor types. The challenge, he stressed, is no longer technical — it is regulatory. “The technology is there,” de Boer stated, adding that the real obstacle remains the willingness of authorities to accept it.
Lloyd’s Register is already moving beyond statements: the organisation is actively working on vessel designs ranging from 65 to 120 metres. Derek Munro of NOxFree Ltd presented the Forum with a 1 MW micro-reactor developed using low-enriched uranium, with a first demonstration planned in the United States in 2028. From the shipbuilding side, Giovanni Brescia of Fincantieri urged caution about directly transposing lessons from commercial cargo shipping to the yachting industry, where operational constraints and owner expectations are fundamentally different.
The Forum — organised in partnership with Oceanco, MB92 Group, ICON Yachts and Jutheau Husson — made clear that the maritime energy transition will not be decided by a single technology. The discussion confirmed that no one solution can address the full spectrum of operational needs. Each vessel type, each route, each usage profile has its own optimal combination. Within that framework, nuclear occupies a well-defined space: long-range passages, large-displacement vessels, and scenarios where energy autonomy outweighs all other considerations. This is no longer a vague hypothesis — it is already the subject of active design work.
The central challenge remains coordinating among the IMO, national nuclear authorities, flag states, ports and insurers. A fragmented regulatory ecosystem that is not yet ready to accommodate the new generation of compact reactors for maritime use. Yet a turning point appears to be approaching. Monaco has hosted several events on this theme in recent months — from the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge in July to the Captains’ Forum in September — and each edition shifts the boundary between concept and project. If the NOxFree micro-reactor demonstration proceeds as planned in 2028, the industry will have a concrete benchmark on which to build the first operational certifications. From there, the step toward the first commercial nuclear vessels could come sooner than the current regulatory landscape might suggest.
