Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Maritime Consortium has published a handbook looking at the safety of civilian nuclear-powered ships. The Nuclear Ship Safety Handbook aims to set the standard for safe maritime nuclear propulsion.
“This handbook is a critical tool in efforts to support the adoption of nuclear in the maritime industry,” explained Themis Sapsis, the William I Koch Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, director of the MIT Centre for Ocean Engineering, and co-director of the MIT Maritime Consortium. “The goal is to provide a strong basis for initial safety on key areas that require nuclear and maritime regulatory research and development in the coming years to prepare for nuclear propulsion in the maritime industry.”
Fotini Christia, the Ford International Professor of the Social Sciences, Director of the Institute for Data, Systems & Society (IDSS), and Co-Director of the MIT Maritime Consortium, stated: “The US-UK nuclear shipping corridor offers a great opportunity to collaborate with legislators on establishing the critical framework that will enable the United States to invest in nuclear-powered merchant vessels – an achievement that will reestablish America in the shipbuilding space.”
A recent memorandum of understanding signed by the US and UK calls for the exploration of “novel applications of advanced nuclear energy, including civil maritime applications,” and for the parties to play “a leading role informing the establishment of international standards, potential establishment of a maritime shipping corridor between the Participants’ territories, and strengthening energy resilience for the Participants’ defence facilities.”
Anthony Valiaveedu, the handbook’s lead author, and co-author Nat Edmonds, are both students in the MIT Master’s Program in Technology & Policy (TPP) within IDSS. Jose Izurieta, the third co-author, is a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) Naval Construction and Engineering (2N) Program.
“It is important for safety and technology to go hand-in-hand,” Valiaveedu explained. “What we have done is provide a risk-informed process to begin these discussions for engineers and policymakers.” Izurieta noted: “Ultimately, I hope this framework can be used to build strong bilateral agreements between nations that will allow nuclear propulsion to thrive.”
He added: “Right now, the nuclear-maritime policies that exist are outdated and often tied only to specific technologies, like pressurised water reactors. With the recent UK-US Technology Prosperity Deal now including civil maritime nuclear applications, I hope the handbook can serve as a foundation for creating a clear, modern regulatory framework for nuclear-powered commercial ships.”
Edmonds noted: “We were lucky to have a team of students and knowledgeable professors from so many fields. Before even beginning the outline of the handbook, we did significant archival and history research to understand the existing regulations and overarching story of nuclear ships. Some of the most relevant documents we found were written before 1975, and many of them were stored in the bellows of the NS Savannah.”
The NS Savannah, built in the late 1950s as a demonstration project for the potential peacetime uses of nuclear energy, was the first nuclear-powered merchant ship. The Savannah was launched in 1959, two years after the first nuclear-powered civilian vessel, the Soviet ice-breaker Lenin, and was retired in 1971.
Commander Christopher MacLean, MIT Associate Professor of the practice in mechanical engineering, naval construction, and engineering, said the handbook will significantly benefit the entire maritime community, specifically naval architects and marine engineers, by providing standardised guidelines for design and operation specific to nuclear powered commercial vessels.
“This will assist in enhancing safety protocols, improve risk assessments, and ensure consistent compliance with international regulations,” he noted. “This will also help foster collaboration amongst engineers and regulators. Overall, this will further strengthen the reliability, sustainability, and public trust in nuclear-powered maritime systems.”
Sangmin Park, Senior Vice President at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, said: “The ‘Nuclear Ship Safety Handbook’ marks a groundbreaking milestone that bridges shipbuilding excellence and nuclear safety. It drives global collaboration between industry and academia, and paves the way for the safe advancement of the nuclear maritime era.”
The handbook is divided into chapters in areas involving the overlapping nuclear and maritime safety design decisions that will be encountered by engineers.
- Chapter 1 establishes the principles and philosophy behind the safety discussion for nuclear maritime and discusses key topics that relate to the overall ship design.
- Chapter 2 provides design details on the reactor compartment and other considerations when designing the reactor compartment.
- Chapter 3 describes the various hazards the reactor plant should be resilient against and avenues in establishing resiliency.
- Chapter 4 discusses the propulsion system and key considerations when evaluating different propulsion designs.
- Chapter 5 provides emergency power considerations for design determinations.
- Chapter 6 provides an event tree analysis on the major initiating events when operating a nuclear ship.
- Chapter 7 outlines the port operating procedures including avenues for establishing porting requirements for nuclear ships.
MIT has been a centre of ship research and design for over a century, with work currently representing significant advancements in fluid mechanics and hydrodynamics, acoustics, offshore mechanics, marine robotics and sensors, and ocean sensing and forecasting.
The MIT Maritime Consortium, launched in 2024, brings together MIT and maritime industry leaders to explore data-powered strategies to reduce harmful emissions, optimise vessel operations, and support economic priorities.
The American Bureau of Shipping is among the founding members of the MIT Maritime Consortium. Others include Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, and Delos Navigation Ltd. Innovation members include Foresight-Group, Navios Maritime Partners LP, Singapore Maritime Institute, and Dorian LPG.
