At a panel discussion at CMA Shipping 2024, experts spoke on the
benefits and challenges of adopting nuclear propulsion for the shipping sector, including public perception,
technology immaturity, and handling nuclear waste.
One of the current difficulties deterring
investment in nuclear power for shipping is
the lack of a regulatory framework to handle the development, licensing,
and permitting for mobile nuclear assets like ships, and for moveable nuclear
assets like floating power plants.
The conclusion of an analysis applying the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rules to nuclear-powered vessels was
that the regulatory structure does not prevent the development of such vessels
and floating power plants.
Scott Edwards, Director of
Regulatory Development at Core Power said he expects the IAEA to produce a
document in the next 18 months with statements to the effect that existing
rules can be applied to the marine environment. This document will send a signal to national
nuclear regulators that while gaps may be identified in the regulatory coverage
which will need to be addressed, the IAEA rules do not present an obstacle to
pursuing the technology. Edwards expects that national nuclear regulators will
develop their own initial guidelines to set appropriate safety standards for
nuclear ships before a global system is developed and adopted at IAEA in
collaboration with the IMO.
Speaking to Seatrade Maritime News,
Mike Salthouse, Head of External Affairs at NorthStandard said the current lack of a robust regulatory
regime for nuclear shipping presents an opportunity.
“Which country is going to come up with that first
stab at a set of standards that shares the liability [for nuclear shipping?] A
country like the UK, with its lawyers, with the intellectual capital within the
UK and its maritime services is not just one of the few places to do that, but
the best place to do that,” said Salthouse.
If the opportunity to take the lead in developing
such regulation is squandered, other countries like the US, China, or another
player will happily fill the role, he added.
At the CMA shipping conference session, the
geopolitics of the nuclear shipping race were evident. “The longer we wait to get this technology
out there, the more ahead of us, the Russians get with their own technology,”
said Jonathan Stephens, Manager, Nuclear Core Design at BWX Technologies. “I
know that they have ambitions to try to sell it to other parts of the world
too, and I would rather get our own plants out there before they have a chance
to do too much of that.”