{"id":1974,"date":"2026-07-19T08:24:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T06:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/smrs-on-merchant-vessels-nuclear-enters-maritime-propulsion\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T08:24:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T06:24:59","slug":"smrs-on-merchant-vessels-nuclear-enters-maritime-propulsion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/smrs-on-merchant-vessels-nuclear-enters-maritime-propulsion\/","title":{"rendered":"SMRs on merchant vessels: nuclear enters maritime propulsion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A 15,000-TEU container ship powered by a <strong>small modular reactor<\/strong> could operate at 39% lower cost than a conventional vessel, eliminating up to $68 million in annual operating expenses related to fuel and carbon penalty fees. That is the central finding of a report published by <strong>Lloyd&#8217;s Register<\/strong> and LucidCatalyst for Seaspan Corporation \u2014 a document that puts hard numbers behind what the maritime industry has been debating for years: nuclear propulsion is an economically viable option for the global merchant fleet.<\/p>\n<p>The ecosystem of players moving in this direction has expanded rapidly throughout 2025. In September, <strong>ABB<\/strong> signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish firm Blykalla to bring the lead-cooled <strong>SEALER<\/strong> reactor line into the maritime sector \u2014 building on a 2024 MoU focused on the Swedish energy market. The SEALER is a compact reactor featuring passive safety systems capable of maintaining stability without external intervention. In parallel, South Korean shipbuilder <strong>HD Korea Shipbuilding &amp; Offshore Engineering<\/strong> received Approval in Principle from ABS for a 15,000-TEU SMR-powered container ship, which has also undergone a HAZMAT study by DNV. Italian classification society <strong>RINA<\/strong> has put forward proposals for applying SMRs to superyachts. Norway&#8217;s <strong>NuProShip<\/strong> project has selected three fourth-generation reactor technologies \u2014 Kairos Power&#8217;s molten salt reactor, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation&#8217;s gas-cooled reactor, and Blykalla&#8217;s SEALER \u2014 for its NuProShip II development phase.<\/p>\n<p>On the regulatory front, progress has been equally tangible. In June 2025, the <strong>IMO<\/strong>&#8216;s Maritime Safety Committee \u2014 MSC110 \u2014 launched a review of the rules governing nuclear-powered ships, tasking the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction with building a regulatory framework aligned with the 2050 net-zero goals. The new code will go beyond direct-cycle PWR systems to encompass architectures such as fully electric ship designs. The <strong>Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization<\/strong> (NEMO) secured NGO status at the IMO by July 2025 \u2014 a remarkably swift recognition for a body founded just one year earlier \u2014 and was invited by the IAEA to participate in General Conference sessions under the <strong>ATLAS<\/strong> programme, which aims to develop regulatory structures for nuclear propulsion at sea. In the United States, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a Request for Information to gather industry proposals on integrating SMRs into the American commercial fleet, in line with Trump administration executive orders on energy and maritime supremacy.<\/p>\n<p>The deeper regulatory challenge remains unresolved: nuclear safety rules were built for fixed installations, while maritime regulations were designed for conventional ships. Neither framework contemplates a mobile nuclear plant transiting international waters and approaching commercial ports. A report published in November 2025 identified this structural gap as the priority to address before any nuclear merchant vessel can receive commercial authorization. The <strong>IACS<\/strong> \u2014 the International Association of Classification Societies \u2014 has committed to supporting the IMO in updating SOLAS Chapter VIII and Resolution A.491(XII), both unchanged since 1981. Meanwhile, Lloyd&#8217;s Register is working alongside <strong>Deployable Energy<\/strong> to develop safety cases and qualification pathways for micro-reactors intended for installation on commercial vessels, with pilot deployments expected in the near term.<\/p>\n<p>According to DNV&#8217;s long-term forecasts, nuclear propulsion will not reach commercial scale until around 2045, with a potential share of up to 10% of the global maritime energy mix by 2060. Yet the pace at which agreements, feasibility studies, and regulatory updates are multiplying suggests that the window for the first concrete moves \u2014 single fleets, bilateral routes, favorable jurisdictions \u2014 could open considerably sooner. Those building the regulatory framework and supply chain today will hold an advantage that will be very difficult to close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The global shipping industry is accelerating toward nuclear propulsion with fourth-generation small modular reactors, backed by major industrial agreements, evolving regulatory frameworks, and compelling feasibility studies. A 15,000-TEU container ship powered by an SMR could eliminate up to $68 million in annual operating costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,122],"tags":[125,130],"class_list":["post-1974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy-economics","category-reactors","tag-decarbonization","tag-smr-small-modular-reactors-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SMRs on merchant vessels: nuclear enters maritime propulsion - Energia nucleare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SMRs and nuclear maritime propulsion: deals, economic studies, and new regulations push shipping toward net zero.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/energianucleare.eu\/en\/smrs-on-merchant-vessels-nuclear-enters-maritime-propulsion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SMRs on merchant vessels: nuclear enters maritime propulsion - 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