SIBCON 2024: EMSA to Look Into Nuclear Propulsion

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday October 14, 2024

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is carrying out research into how nuclear propulsion can safely be introduced as a technology for the shipping industry.

EMSA is is planning to publish a report on nuclear propulsion next year, Maja Markovčić Kostelac, executive director of the European agency, told Ship & Bunker on the sidelines of the Sibcon industry event in Singapore last week.

The organisation has previously published reports on a range of marine energy technologies including methanol biofuels and ammonia, and also plans to look at carbon capture.

"We want to keep the neutrality and see what are the perspectives of each of these alternatives for maritime transport," Kostelac said.

"Now we are particularly concentrated on the safety aspects of different alternatives, from ammonia and hydrogen to nuclear."

The report on nuclear propulsion will be similar to some of the previous publications, looking at the availability, accessibility and economics of the technology, as well as the safety aspect.