EMEA News
Return of Russian Nuclear Cargo Ship Planned
The Russian government will refurbish a 1999-built nuclear-powered containership for commercial service, industry news site Tradewinds reports.
Sevmorput is scheduled to restart service in February 2016 and will be the only commercial cargo ship to run on atomic energy
The ship, owned by state authority Atomflot, was originally designed by the former Soviet Union to provide reliable service to the Russian Arctic even in the winter.
Most recently operated by the Murmansk Shipping Co., Sevmorput is sized to carry either 74 cargo lighters or 1,328 twenty foot containers.
The ship, which is said to have last operated in 2007, was scheduled for demolition last year, but authorities recently decided to bring it back into service.
Nuclear power is used in military and ice-breaking ships, but high building and operating costs and fears of the dangers of nuclear reactors have made it unappealing to commercial shippers.
Iran has also expressed possible interest in nuclear-powered vessels in recent years.
