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Maybe nuclear power for commercial ships? Global navies have proved and refined nuclear power technology for their ships. Why not apply this technology to the

Maybe nuclear power for commercial ships? Global navies have proved and refined nuclear power technology for their ships. Why not apply this technology to the commercial sector, instead of carrying gallons of diesel?

seanmcdirmid 8y ago
> Maybe nuclear power for commercial ships? That is so 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah
wil421 8y ago
So pirates will be able to steal nuclear material? What happens if a container sinks near a popular beach? I doubt people want these kinds of risks. I’d expect gas and diesel to be used for airplanes and ships for a long long time.
- rs999gti 8y ago
  >So pirates will be able to steal nuclear material? Why couldn't private security be part of international freight? The costs for this security could be added to freight costs. For example, Russian private security contractors successfully protected ships near Somalia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE >What happens if a container sinks near a popular beach? I doubt people want these kinds of risks. Governmental navies don't experience these risks? Also, read this section about liabilities for private nuclear reactors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_marine_propulsion#Civil_liability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_marine_propulsion#Civi...
  - wil421 8y ago
    Private security is not a guarantee and someone could always send a suicide bomber. It happened a few times to US navy ships it would probably be easier to do to commercial ships.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    > Governmental navies don't experience these risks? The number of nuclear navies numbers in the single digits, and of those, only a handful use nuclear powered ships in any sort of numbers.
- wbl 8y ago
  Nuclear material is self-guarding.
maxerickson 8y ago
Naval reactors are expensive upfront and expensive to operate. So the likeliest path to commercial nuclear vessels is onerous carbon regulations. That path isn't likely.
- bluGill 8y ago
  Naval reactors have some design choices that don't make sense for shipping. Things like they can shutdown and restart the reactor quickly. A Submarine sometimes needs to get into max quiet mode as quickly as possible and then when the threat is gone get back up to full speed. This is obviously required for a war vessel, but for a commercial ship can use a cheaper reactor that can't be abused like that.
alexhutcheson 8y ago
Too expensive and complex. Even global navies don't use except in unusual circumstances that absolutely require it, like subs, aircraft carriers, and a handful of polar icebreakers.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> Maybe nuclear power for commercial ships? Four have been built (by the US, Germany, Japan, and Russia), starting in the 1950s (one per decade from the 1950s to the 1980s), but it's never really caught on. The most recent built was refitted and returned to service in 2016, after having been decommissioned and awaiting disposal for nearly a decade, the rest have been scrapped.
walrus01 8y ago
Nuclear power for commercial use has been tried, read up on the Savannah. Very expensive for the full life cycle of the reactor.

seanmcdirmid 8y ago

> Maybe nuclear power for commercial ships? That is so 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah

wil421 8y ago

So pirates will be able to steal nuclear material? What happens if a container sinks near a popular beach? I doubt people want these kinds of risks. I’d expect gas and diesel to be used for airplanes and ships for a long long time.

rs999gti 8y ago
>So pirates will be able to steal nuclear material? Why couldn't private security be part of international freight? The costs for this security could be added to freight costs. For example, Russian private security contractors successfully protected ships near Somalia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJ0nblZjZE >What happens if a container sinks near a popular beach? I doubt people want these kinds of risks. Governmental navies don't experience these risks? Also, read this section about liabilities for private nuclear reactors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_marine_propulsion#Civil_liability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_marine_propulsion#Civi...
- wil421 8y ago
  Private security is not a guarantee and someone could always send a suicide bomber. It happened a few times to US navy ships it would probably be easier to do to commercial ships.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  > Governmental navies don't experience these risks? The number of nuclear navies numbers in the single digits, and of those, only a handful use nuclear powered ships in any sort of numbers.
wbl 8y ago
Nuclear material is self-guarding.

maxerickson 8y ago

Naval reactors are expensive upfront and expensive to operate. So the likeliest path to commercial nuclear vessels is onerous carbon regulations. That path isn't likely.

bluGill 8y ago
Naval reactors have some design choices that don't make sense for shipping. Things like they can shutdown and restart the reactor quickly. A Submarine sometimes needs to get into max quiet mode as quickly as possible and then when the threat is gone get back up to full speed. This is obviously required for a war vessel, but for a commercial ship can use a cheaper reactor that can't be abused like that.

alexhutcheson 8y ago

Too expensive and complex. Even global navies don't use except in unusual circumstances that absolutely require it, like subs, aircraft carriers, and a handful of polar icebreakers.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> Maybe nuclear power for commercial ships? Four have been built (by the US, Germany, Japan, and Russia), starting in the 1950s (one per decade from the 1950s to the 1980s), but it's never really caught on. The most recent built was refitted and returned to service in 2016, after having been decommissioned and awaiting disposal for nearly a decade, the rest have been scrapped.

walrus01 8y ago

Nuclear power for commercial use has been tried, read up on the Savannah. Very expensive for the full life cycle of the reactor.