A new industry study has suggested that the main obstacles to the future use of nuclear-powered merchant ships may lie in regulation and governance rather than port safety.
The assessment, conducted by Lloyd’s Register, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, CORE POWER and A.P. Moller-Maersk, examined how a nuclear-powered feeder vessel could operate within a major European port environment using Rotterdam as a case study.
According to the report, ports already employ risk-based safety and operational frameworks that could provide a foundation for evaluating nuclear-powered vessels. However, the study found that significant work remains before such ships could enter routine commercial service.
The report points to a range of issues requiring further development, including coordination between maritime and nuclear regulators, emergency response planning, security requirements, liability arrangements and public acceptance.
The findings come as shipping faces growing pressure to identify scalable zero-emission propulsion technologies capable of supporting long-distance operations while meeting increasingly stringent decarbonisation targets.
While much of the industry’s attention has focused on alternative fuels such as ammonia, hydrogen and e-fuels, the study argues that nuclear propulsion should also be considered as part of the long-term energy transition.
The authors noted that existing International Maritime Organization (IMO) provisions covering nuclear-powered ships were developed decades ago and would need to be modernised to support any future commercial deployment.
Mikal Bøe, Chief Executive Officer of CORE POWER, said public confidence in nuclear-powered vessel calls would be critical to the technology’s success, adding that the study provides a starting point for regulators examining future safety requirements.
The report stressed that it is not a licensing assessment or an endorsement of deployment, but an early-stage examination of how nuclear-powered commercial vessels could be assessed within existing port and regulatory structures.
