CORE POWER has proposed a seven-year commercial pathway for deploying US-flagged nuclear-powered ships, arguing that the first vessel should be designed as the starting point for a repeatable fleet rather than a one-off demonstration.
The proposal, known as Project Pathfinder, was submitted to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) on August 5 in response to its request for information on commercially viable small modular reactor concepts for marine transport.
CORE POWER said commercial nuclear propulsion requires the vessel, reactor, operator, ports, shipyard, workforce, fuel, insurance, financing and end-of-life arrangements to work as an integrated system.
Its proposal calls for MARAD to establish a time-limited programme, select an initial commercial service and ports within 12 months, and choose the fastest credible propulsion pathway.
CORE POWER also recommends securing an order book covering at least three vessels, developing nuclear-capable shipyard and lifecycle infrastructure, and resolving liability and insurance issues before construction.
The company said the programme should ultimately be judged on ship availability, cargo moved, schedule reliability, port acceptance and the cost and time required to order the next vessel.
