LR-Led Coalition Plans Nuclear Ships for Remote Areas

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday April 16, 2025

Nuclear technology has long been debated as a potential pathway to reduce emissions from the global shipping industry.

Now, Lloyd’s Register (LR) has partnered with ship design firm Seatransport and Houston-based Deployable Energy to develop nuclear-powered vessels, including strategic response ships designed to operate in remote areas.

Using micro modular reactor (MMR) technology, the vessel will be powered by two to five MMRs, each with a 1 MWe capacity, LR said in a statement on its website on Monday.

The 73 m ship is designed for emergency response and disaster relief in remote regions.

With this setup, it can operate for 8 to 10 years without nuclear refuelling, while also supplying power to shore grids in disaster-hit areas or when docked at port.

While nuclear propulsion has been used in naval ships for several years, its use in commercial shipping has yet to be realised.

This is largely due to regulatory challenges, safety concerns, and limited industry experience with nuclear propulsion in civilian applications.

However, companies such as Core Power are working to change that—aiming to make nuclear propulsion a viable and scalable solution for the commercial maritime sector.

Mikal Bøe, CEO of Core Power, told Ship & Bunker last year that he expects the first nuclear-powered orders before 2030.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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