Chinese Shipyard Reveals Design For World’s First Nuclear Tanker Powered By Molten Salt Reactor

The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has presented designs for the largest nuclear-powered containership in the world. The 24,000-TEU-class vessel’s plans were revealed Tuesday at the Marintec China expo in Shanghai. To generate power, the ship will use a fourth-generation molten salt reactor (abbreviated as the MSR).

The ultra-large nuclear container vessel is designed to achieve ‘zero emissions’ during the vessel’s operating cycle, according to a post on Weibo.

Chinese Shipyard — Image Credits: tphuang/Twitter

DNV, the classification society, was reportedly present at the launch ceremony to give CSSC shipyard Jiangnan Shipbuilding preliminary certification.

This ship type offers excellent safety; the reactor works at high temperatures and low pressure, can prevent core melting in principle, and possesses anti-proliferation and inherent safety features, per a CSSC Weibo post.

MSRs are small-scale modular nuclear reactors that utilize a liquid salt combination as the fuel and the coolant. The dissolved fuel in the salt provides for better control and effectiveness in the nuclear reaction, resulting in increased safety and the potential for greater fuel utilization.

Given that nuclear energy has provided zero-emission power to naval alongside government vessels for more than six decades, the shipping industry is investigating the use of nuclear propulsion on commercial vessels in order to increase efficiency while lowering the industrial footprint of the industry in order to fulfill international targets.

According to a study released earlier this year by the classification society ABS, nuclear propulsion in a commercial marine vessel, especially a 14,000 TEU container ship and a Suezmax tanker, may boost cargo capacity as well as operational speed while reducing CO2 emissions along with the need for refuelling over a 25-year life span.

According to Christopher Wiernicki, Chair and CEO of the worldwide classification society ABS, nuclear propulsion is critical to attaining a net-zero future.

A net-zero world is more easily achieved via nuclear propulsion, and efforts are being made to lay the groundwork for that future right now. Making this a realistic reality will necessitate significant public sector support. ABS is ideally positioned to bring industry and governments together, he remarked in July, following the report’s release by ABS.

Many difficulties typically connected with nuclear energy, especially for commercial maritime usage, are addressed by advanced or small modular reactors, including increased safety and efficiency, decreased cost and waste, and proliferation control. Nonetheless, he added that many concerns must be resolved, and the industry must evaluate emerging technologies with a focus on safety.

Reference: SCMP.com

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