OPINION | DAVID HESS
Plotting the course to a maritime future
A recent nuclear summit signals a sea change in thinking for the maritime sector as the momentum behind nuclear-propelled vessels
and floating nuclear power plants builds. The potential to transform both the maritime and nuclear sectors is clear, but challenges still lurk in the deep.
David Hess, Senior VP DeepGeo
T IS OFTEN SAID THAT there is nothing new under the sun in the nuclear industry. Many so-called advanced nuclear companies are pursuing technologies that were initially dreamt up and first tested decades ago – during the heyday of nuclear blue-sky thinking. On the application side there is nothing new about nuclear district heating,
desalination and hydrogen production. Rather, what has been renewed is the passion for these solutions in a world that desperately needs to change. One exotic application stands out above the others
in terms of its potential to fundamentally transform the nuclear industry to make it more than it is today. Maritime nuclear is just flat out impressive, as it involves not only the development of specialised nuclear equipment, but also the design and engineering of extraordinary vessels and platforms. Its successful realisation would effectively wed the nuclear industry to a whole new sector and
theoretically open up another 70% of the world’s surface to the improvement of civil nuclear tech. Maritime nuclear is an umbrella term that covers both
floating nuclear plants and nuclear-propelled or powered vessels. Floating nuclear plans promise a range of benefits including mobility and the powering of remote coastal sites and isolated islands. Nuclear propelled ships promise to clean up this polluting sector while cutting journey times and increasing the operational range (and profit earning potential) of such vessels. The designers of both systems intend to employ small modular reactor designs and use the manufacturing potential of shipyards to allegedly speed up and cut costs on nuclear construction. The excitement around maritime nuclear is palpable
©Alexy Kovynev
and it’s growing. The recent European Nuclear Energy Maritime Summit hosted by Core Power was packed – well attended by members of both the nuclear and maritime community as well as interested politicians, students, media and others. According to the organisers, the number of attendees has grown steadily. One memorable quip from the master of ceremonies was that she recognised less than half the faces, a refreshing change from most nuclear conferences, where the same people reliably turn up year after year. There was a genuine buzz as the two worlds collided and maritime attendees considered nuclear technologies, while some of the nuclear attendees reflected upon whether it was too late to retrain for a life at sea.
It turns out that the challenges of realising nuclear-
“The director has said that the plant should be prepared not only for emergency situations, but also for global changes.”
14 | August 2025 |
www.neimagazine.com
propelled ships are much greater than floating nuclear power plants. This is surprising when you consider that the first nuclear power submarine was launched before the world’s first nuclear power plant began operation. Nuclear propulsion, not electricity, was the first demonstrated application of nuclear energy. There is in fact a long and proud history of shipping, but it is mostly limited to the navies of a few particular countries. Or in the case of the Russian nuclear icebreakers, run by the state-owned behemoth Rosatom. For any readers who are new to the subject, it is compulsory to mention the historical forays into civil
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