Nuclear marine propulsion
Encyclopedia
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor
. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships (see Nuclear navy
). Only a very few experimental civil nuclear ships have been built; the elimination of fossil fuel has not outweighed the technical, economic and political difficulties of this application of nuclear power
.
in the reactor produces heat that is used to boil water. The resulting steam spins a turbine
. The turbine shaft may be coupled through a gearbox speed reducer to the ship's propeller, or in a turbo-electric drive system may operate a generator that supplies electric power to motors connected to the propellers.
The Russian, U.S.
and British
navies rely on steam turbine
propulsion, while the French and Chinese ships use the turbine to generate electricity for propulsion (turbo-electric
propulsion). Most nuclear submarines have a single reactor, but Russian submarines and the had two. Most American aircraft carriers are powered by two reactors, but the had eight. The majority of marine reactors
are of the pressurized water
type, although the US and Soviet navies have designed warships powered with liquid metal cooled reactor
s.
A small amount of nuclear fuel can provide energy equivalent to millions of times its weight in coal or oil. It was quite practical to build a reactor with enough fuel to operate a vessel for years, and refuelling was limited to major refits every few years. Although the cost to manufacture fuel elements was high compared to the purchase price of uranium, overall the cost due to fuel was much lower than the comparable fossil fuel. Like sailing ships, nuclear vessels are independent of the vagaries of procurement of fuel at every port (for at least a few years at a time, anyway). The laborious and costly process of loading and firing fuel was largely eliminated for most of the vessel's operating life.
A secondary consequence of the high energy density of nuclear fuel was that it was practical to provide very high power in a vessel without penalty in payload (weapons or cargo) capacity. This allows cargo vessels to operate at high speed for rapid delivery of products. Aircraft carriers could travel at high speeds for long periods to facilitate aircraft operation, without losing storage space for aviation fuel and aircraft. Arctic vessels could operate for months, independent of fuel supplies.
Nuclear reactors require no combustion air and emit no exhaust gas. This is a minor benefit for surface vessels, since it eliminates the space-consuming exhaust stacks, intake ducts, and blowers required to move combustion air into the boilers. For submersible vessels this is the single most important characteristic. With nuclear power, a submarine could be propelled at speeds comparable to surface ships for protracted periods limited only by crew endurance, not by fuel supply or battery capacity. Although not a motivation for the original development, current interest is partly sparked by a desire to eliminate the environmental effect of CO2, SO2 and other air pollutants emitted by cargo ships. For economic reasons, ships operate on the lowest-quality fuel their engines can tolerate, but this means they have high air pollution emissions.
Marine reactors are physically small and produce relatively high power for each unit of space. Land-based electrical power plant reactors are rated thousands of megawatts of thermal power, but a propulsion reactor is no bigger than a few hundred megawatts. A propulsion reactor is limited in physical size by the vessel dimensions. Reactor mechanical systems must operate under vibration and rolling of a ship under way in rough seas; particularly, reactor shutdown systems may not rely on the reactor remaining perpendicular to the Earth's surface. Weather and salt-water corrosion provide extra stress to ship-borne power plants.
The fuel used is typically of higher enrichment than land-based electric power plants. Some marine reactors run on low-enriched uranium
(requiring frequent refueling). Others run on highly enriched uranium, varying from from 20% 235U, to over 96% in U.S. submarine
s and are quieter in operation from smaller core. This fuel choice increases the reactor's power density and extends the usable life of the nuclear fuel load, but is more expensive and a greater risk to nuclear proliferation than some of the other nuclear fuels.
The fuel is not a ceramic UO2 (uranium oxide) but a metal-zirconium
alloy (circa 15% U with 93% enrichment, or more U with lower enrichment). Marine reactors are designed for long core life, enabled by the relatively high enrichment of the uranium and by incorporating a "burnable poison
" in the cores which is progressively depleted as fission product
s and minor actinides
accumulate; the two effects cancel each other out. One of the technical difficulties is the creation of a fuel which will tolerate the very large amount of radiation damage. During use, the properties of nuclear fuel
change. Fuel elements may crack and fission gas bubbles may form.
The marine reactor propulsion plant must be of cost effective design, construction and operation. It must be highly reliable and self sufficient, so as to be easily reparable and sustainable through repairs, conducted many thousands of miles from its home port.
Long-term integrity of the compact reactor pressure vessel
is maintained by providing an internal neutron
shield.
). In Russia, whole vessels, or sealed reactor sections, typically remain stored afloat, although a new facility near Sayda Bay is to provide storage in a concrete-floored facility on land for some submarines in the far north.
for their far eastern territories. The design has two 35 MWe units based on the KLT-40 reactor
used in icebreaker
s (with refueling every four years). Some Russian naval vessels have been used to supply electricity for domestic and industrial use in remote far eastern and Siberian towns.
Lloyd's Register
is investigating the possibility of civilian nuclear marine propulsion and rewriting draft rules.
, the design, development and production of nuclear marine propulsion plants started in the USA in the 1940s, with the first test reactor being started up in 1953. The first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus
, put to sea in 1955. Much of the early development work on naval reactors was done at the Naval Reactor Facility on the campus of the Idaho National Laboratory
.
The Soviet Union also developed nuclear submarines. The first types developed were the November class
, the first of which, K-3 "Leninskiy Komsomol", was underway under nuclear power on July 4, 1958.
Nuclear reactors gave the submarine sufficient power to operate at high speeds, independent of air, for extended intervals; it was practical to build submarines with submerged speed comparable to surface vessels.
Nautilus led to the parallel development of further s, powered by single reactors, and a cruiser, USS Long Beach
, in 1961, powered by two reactors. The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise
, commissioned in 1961, is powered by eight reactor units.
By 1962 the United States Navy
had 26 nuclear submarines operational and 30 under construction. Nuclear power had revolutionized the Navy. The technology was shared with the United Kingdom
, while French
, Soviet
, India
n and Chinese
developments proceeded separately.
After the Skate-class vessels, reactor development proceeded and in the USA a single series of standardized designs was built by both Westinghouse and General Electric
, one reactor powering each vessel. Rolls-Royce
built similar units for Royal Navy
submarines and then developed the design further to the PWR-2 (pressurized water reactor
).
The largest nuclear submarines ever built are the 26,500 tonne Russian . The smallest naval nuclear submarines to date are the 2,700 tonne French Rubis class submarine
attack submarines. The U.S. navy operated an unarmed nuclear 400 ton NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft
between 1969 and 2008, but it had no direct combat role.
USA and France have built nuclear aircraft carriers.
By 1990 there were more nuclear reactors on (mostly naval) ships than (larger) reactors used for commercial electrical power. Many of these submarines and other vessels were decommissioned in the 1990s.
completed in 1962 was primarily a demonstration of civil nuclear power and was too small and expensive to operate economically as a merchant ship. The ship design had been compromised and was neither an efficient freighter nor a viable passenger liner. The German-built Otto Hahn
cargo ship and research facility sailed some 650000 nautical miles (1,203,800 km) on 126 voyages in 10 years without any technical problems. However, it proved too expensive to operate and was converted to diesel. The Japanese Mutsu
was dogged by technical and political problems. Its reactor had significant radiation leakage and fisherman protested the vessel's operations. All of these three ships used low-enriched uranium.
Recently there has been renewed interest in nuclear propulsion, and some proposals have been drafted. For example, the cargo coaster (this reference is broken) is a new design for a nuclear cargo ship.
s in the Soviet
Arctic
. Nuclear-fuelled ships could operate for years without refueling, and the vessels could have powerful engines well-suited to the icebreaking tasks.
The Soviet icebreaker Lenin
was the world's first nuclear-powered surface vessel in 1959 and remained in service for 30 years (new reactors were fitted in 1970). It led to a series of larger icebreakers, the 23,500 ton
of six vessels, launched from 1975. These vessels have two reactors and are used in deep Arctic waters. NS Arktika
was the first surface vessel to reach the North Pole
.
For use in shallow waters such as estuaries and rivers, shallow-draft Taymyr class icebreakers with one reactor are being built in Finland
and then fitted with their nuclear steam supply system in Russia
. They are built to conform with international safety standards for nuclear vessels.
Sevmorput
, a Soviet cargo ship with ice-breaking capability, operated successfully of the Northern Sea Route
.
The following are ship
s that are or were in commercial or civilian use and have nuclear marine propulsion.
n (former Soviet Union
):
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships (see Nuclear navy
Nuclear navy
Nuclear navy, or nuclear powered navy consists of ships powered by relatively small onboard nuclear reactors known as naval reactors. The concept was revolutionary for naval warfare when first proposed, as it meant that these vessels did not need to stop for fuel like their conventional...
). Only a very few experimental civil nuclear ships have been built; the elimination of fossil fuel has not outweighed the technical, economic and political difficulties of this application of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
.
Power plants
Operation of a civil or naval ship power plant is similar to land-based nuclear power reactors. A sustained nuclear reactionNuclear chain reaction
A nuclear chain reaction occurs when one nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more nuclear reactions, thus leading to a self-propagating number of these reactions. The specific nuclear reaction may be the fission of heavy isotopes or the fusion of light isotopes...
in the reactor produces heat that is used to boil water. The resulting steam spins a turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
. The turbine shaft may be coupled through a gearbox speed reducer to the ship's propeller, or in a turbo-electric drive system may operate a generator that supplies electric power to motors connected to the propellers.
The Russian, U.S.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
navies rely on steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
propulsion, while the French and Chinese ships use the turbine to generate electricity for propulsion (turbo-electric
Turbo-electric
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to power the driveshafts....
propulsion). Most nuclear submarines have a single reactor, but Russian submarines and the had two. Most American aircraft carriers are powered by two reactors, but the had eight. The majority of marine reactors
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
are of the pressurized water
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
type, although the US and Soviet navies have designed warships powered with liquid metal cooled reactor
Liquid metal cooled reactor
A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor, liquid metal fast reactor or LMFR is an advanced type of nuclear reactor where the primary coolant is a liquid metal. Liquid metal cooled reactors were first adapted for nuclear submarine use but have also been extensively studied for power generation...
s.
Characteristics of nuclear propulsion
Nuclear power for propulsion has several appealing operating and logistic characteristics to the designers of ships for both civil and military purposes.A small amount of nuclear fuel can provide energy equivalent to millions of times its weight in coal or oil. It was quite practical to build a reactor with enough fuel to operate a vessel for years, and refuelling was limited to major refits every few years. Although the cost to manufacture fuel elements was high compared to the purchase price of uranium, overall the cost due to fuel was much lower than the comparable fossil fuel. Like sailing ships, nuclear vessels are independent of the vagaries of procurement of fuel at every port (for at least a few years at a time, anyway). The laborious and costly process of loading and firing fuel was largely eliminated for most of the vessel's operating life.
A secondary consequence of the high energy density of nuclear fuel was that it was practical to provide very high power in a vessel without penalty in payload (weapons or cargo) capacity. This allows cargo vessels to operate at high speed for rapid delivery of products. Aircraft carriers could travel at high speeds for long periods to facilitate aircraft operation, without losing storage space for aviation fuel and aircraft. Arctic vessels could operate for months, independent of fuel supplies.
Nuclear reactors require no combustion air and emit no exhaust gas. This is a minor benefit for surface vessels, since it eliminates the space-consuming exhaust stacks, intake ducts, and blowers required to move combustion air into the boilers. For submersible vessels this is the single most important characteristic. With nuclear power, a submarine could be propelled at speeds comparable to surface ships for protracted periods limited only by crew endurance, not by fuel supply or battery capacity. Although not a motivation for the original development, current interest is partly sparked by a desire to eliminate the environmental effect of CO2, SO2 and other air pollutants emitted by cargo ships. For economic reasons, ships operate on the lowest-quality fuel their engines can tolerate, but this means they have high air pollution emissions.
Differences from land power plants
Marine-type reactors differ from land-based commercial electric power reactors in several respects.Marine reactors are physically small and produce relatively high power for each unit of space. Land-based electrical power plant reactors are rated thousands of megawatts of thermal power, but a propulsion reactor is no bigger than a few hundred megawatts. A propulsion reactor is limited in physical size by the vessel dimensions. Reactor mechanical systems must operate under vibration and rolling of a ship under way in rough seas; particularly, reactor shutdown systems may not rely on the reactor remaining perpendicular to the Earth's surface. Weather and salt-water corrosion provide extra stress to ship-borne power plants.
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
(requiring frequent refueling). Others run on highly enriched uranium, varying from from 20% 235U, to over 96% in U.S. submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s and are quieter in operation from smaller core. This fuel choice increases the reactor's power density and extends the usable life of the nuclear fuel load, but is more expensive and a greater risk to nuclear proliferation than some of the other nuclear fuels.
The fuel is not a ceramic UO2 (uranium oxide) but a metal-zirconium
Zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon. Its atomic mass is 91.224. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium...
alloy (circa 15% U with 93% enrichment, or more U with lower enrichment). Marine reactors are designed for long core life, enabled by the relatively high enrichment of the uranium and by incorporating a "burnable poison
Nuclear poison
A neutron poison is a substance with a large neutron absorption cross-section in applications, such as nuclear reactors. In such applications, absorbing neutrons is normally an undesirable effect...
" in the cores which is progressively depleted as fission product
Fission product
Nuclear fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large atomic nucleus fissions. Typically, a large nucleus like that of uranium fissions by splitting into two smaller nuclei, along with a few neutrons and a large release of energy in the form of heat , gamma rays and neutrinos. The...
s and minor actinides
Minor actinides
The minor actinides are the actinide elements in used nuclear fuel other than uranium and plutonium, which are termed the major actinides. The minor actinides include neptunium, americium, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, and fermium...
accumulate; the two effects cancel each other out. One of the technical difficulties is the creation of a fuel which will tolerate the very large amount of radiation damage. During use, the properties of nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
change. Fuel elements may crack and fission gas bubbles may form.
The marine reactor propulsion plant must be of cost effective design, construction and operation. It must be highly reliable and self sufficient, so as to be easily reparable and sustainable through repairs, conducted many thousands of miles from its home port.
Long-term integrity of the compact reactor pressure vessel
Reactor vessel
In a nuclear power plant, the reactor vessel is a pressure vessel containing the Nuclear reactor coolant and reactor core.Not all power reactors have a reactor vessel. Power reactors are generally classified by the type of coolant rather than by the configuration of the reactor vessel used to...
is maintained by providing an internal neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
shield.
Decommissioning
Decommissioning nuclear-powered submarines has become a major task for US and Russian navies. After defuelling, U.S. practice is to cut the reactor section from the vessel for disposal in shallow land burial as low-level waste (see the Ship-Submarine recycling programShip-Submarine recycling program
The Ship/Submarine Recycling Program is the process the United States Navy uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels. SRP takes place only at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, but the preparations can begin elsewhere....
). In Russia, whole vessels, or sealed reactor sections, typically remain stored afloat, although a new facility near Sayda Bay is to provide storage in a concrete-floored facility on land for some submarines in the far north.
Future designs
Russia is well advanced with plans to build a floating nuclear power plantRussian floating nuclear power station
Floating nuclear power stations are vessels projected by Rosatom that present self-contained, low-capacity, floating nuclear power plants...
for their far eastern territories. The design has two 35 MWe units based on the KLT-40 reactor
KLT-40 reactor
The KLT-40 and KLT-40M reactors are nuclear fission reactors used to power the Taymyr-class icebreakers and the LASH carrier Sevmorput...
used in icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s (with refueling every four years). Some Russian naval vessels have been used to supply electricity for domestic and industrial use in remote far eastern and Siberian towns.
Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register
The Lloyd's Register Group is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organisation providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification. Historically, as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, it was a specifically maritime organisation...
is investigating the possibility of civilian nuclear marine propulsion and rewriting draft rules.
Civil liability
Insurance of nuclear vessels is not like the insurance of conventional ships. The consequences of an accident could span national boundaries, and the magnitude of possible damage is beyond the capacity of private insurers. A special international agreement, the Brussels Convention on the Liability of Operators of Nuclear Ships, developed in 1962, would have made signatory national governments liable for accidents caused by nuclear vessels under their flag but was never ratified owing to disagreement on the inclusion of warships under the convention. Nuclear reactors under United States jurisdiction are insured by the provisions of the Price Anderson Act.Military
Under the direction of Admiral Hyman G. RickoverHyman G. Rickover
Hyman George Rickover was a four-star admiral of the United States Navy who directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of Naval Reactors...
, the design, development and production of nuclear marine propulsion plants started in the USA in the 1940s, with the first test reactor being started up in 1953. The first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
USS Nautilus is the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. She was the first vessel to complete a submerged transit beneath the North Pole on August 3, 1958...
, put to sea in 1955. Much of the early development work on naval reactors was done at the Naval Reactor Facility on the campus of the Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory is an complex located in the high desert of eastern Idaho, between the town of Arco to the west and the cities of Idaho Falls and Blackfoot to the east. It lies within Butte, Bingham, Bonneville and Jefferson counties...
.
The Soviet Union also developed nuclear submarines. The first types developed were the November class
November class submarine
The Project 627 class submarine was the Soviet Union's first class of nuclear-powered submarines. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization used the standard radio communication phonetic alphabet to denote submarine classes...
, the first of which, K-3 "Leninskiy Komsomol", was underway under nuclear power on July 4, 1958.
Nuclear reactors gave the submarine sufficient power to operate at high speeds, independent of air, for extended intervals; it was practical to build submarines with submerged speed comparable to surface vessels.
Nautilus led to the parallel development of further s, powered by single reactors, and a cruiser, USS Long Beach
USS Long Beach (CGN-9)
USS Long Beach was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy. She was the only ship of her class....
, in 1961, powered by two reactors. The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
USS Enterprise , formerly CVA-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E". At , she is the longest naval vessel in the world...
, commissioned in 1961, is powered by eight reactor units.
By 1962 the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
had 26 nuclear submarines operational and 30 under construction. Nuclear power had revolutionized the Navy. The technology was shared with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, while French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n and Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
developments proceeded separately.
After the Skate-class vessels, reactor development proceeded and in the USA a single series of standardized designs was built by both Westinghouse and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, one reactor powering each vessel. Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
built similar units for Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
submarines and then developed the design further to the PWR-2 (pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
).
The largest nuclear submarines ever built are the 26,500 tonne Russian . The smallest naval nuclear submarines to date are the 2,700 tonne French Rubis class submarine
Rubis class submarine
The Rubis type is a class of first-generation nuclear attack submarines of the French Navy. They are the most compact nuclear attack submarines to date.All submarines of the class are named after gemstones.-History:...
attack submarines. The U.S. navy operated an unarmed nuclear 400 ton NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft
NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft
The Deep Submergence Vessel NR-1 was a unique United States Navy nuclear-powered ocean engineering and research submarine. It was built by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics at Groton, Connecticut. It was launched on January 25, 1969, completed its initial sea trials August 19, 1969,...
between 1969 and 2008, but it had no direct combat role.
USA and France have built nuclear aircraft carriers.
By 1990 there were more nuclear reactors on (mostly naval) ships than (larger) reactors used for commercial electrical power. Many of these submarines and other vessels were decommissioned in the 1990s.
Merchant ships
Nuclear power civil merchant ships have not developed beyond a few experimental ships. The US-built NS SavannahNS Savannah
NS Savannah, named for SS Savannah, was the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million, including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core, funded by United States government agencies as a demonstration project for the potential...
completed in 1962 was primarily a demonstration of civil nuclear power and was too small and expensive to operate economically as a merchant ship. The ship design had been compromised and was neither an efficient freighter nor a viable passenger liner. The German-built Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn (ship)
Otto Hahn was one of only four nuclear-powered cargo vessels so far built. Planning of a German-built trade and research vessel to test the feasibility of nuclear power in civil service began in 1960, and Otto Hahns keel was laid down in 1963 by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG of Kiel...
cargo ship and research facility sailed some 650000 nautical miles (1,203,800 km) on 126 voyages in 10 years without any technical problems. However, it proved too expensive to operate and was converted to diesel. The Japanese Mutsu
Mutsu (ship)
Mutsu was Japan's first, and only nuclear-powered ship. It was built as a nuclear merchant ship, one of four such vessels ever constructed, but never carried commercial cargo.-Nuclear propulsion tests:...
was dogged by technical and political problems. Its reactor had significant radiation leakage and fisherman protested the vessel's operations. All of these three ships used low-enriched uranium.
Recently there has been renewed interest in nuclear propulsion, and some proposals have been drafted. For example, the cargo coaster (this reference is broken) is a new design for a nuclear cargo ship.
Icebreakers
Nuclear propulsion has proven both technically and economically feasible for nuclear powered icebreakerNuclear powered icebreaker
A nuclear powered icebreaker is a purpose-built ship for use in waters continuously covered with ice. Icebreakers are ships capable of cruising on ice-covered water by breaking through the ice with their strong, heavy, steel bows...
s in the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. Nuclear-fuelled ships could operate for years without refueling, and the vessels could have powerful engines well-suited to the icebreaking tasks.
The Soviet icebreaker Lenin
Soviet icebreaker Lenin
The NS Lenin is a Soviet icebreaker launched in 1957, and is both the world's first nuclear powered surface ship and the first nuclear powered civilian vessel. Lenin was put into operation in 1959 and officially decommissioned in 1989....
was the world's first nuclear-powered surface vessel in 1959 and remained in service for 30 years (new reactors were fitted in 1970). It led to a series of larger icebreakers, the 23,500 ton
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...
of six vessels, launched from 1975. These vessels have two reactors and are used in deep Arctic waters. NS Arktika
Arktika (icebreaker)
NS Arktika is a nuclear powered icebreaker of the Soviet Arktika class. In service since 1975, she was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, on August 17, 1977....
was the first surface vessel to reach the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
For use in shallow waters such as estuaries and rivers, shallow-draft Taymyr class icebreakers with one reactor are being built in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and then fitted with their nuclear steam supply system in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. They are built to conform with international safety standards for nuclear vessels.
Sevmorput
Sevmorput
Sevmorput is a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaking LASH carrier and container ship. Delivered in 1988 and named after the Northern Sea Route , she is the last of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built and the only one still operating on nuclear power.- Development and construction :The...
, a Soviet cargo ship with ice-breaking capability, operated successfully of the Northern Sea Route
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
.
Civilian nuclear ships
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s that are or were in commercial or civilian use and have nuclear marine propulsion.
Merchant cargo ships
- NS MutsuMutsu (ship)Mutsu was Japan's first, and only nuclear-powered ship. It was built as a nuclear merchant ship, one of four such vessels ever constructed, but never carried commercial cargo.-Nuclear propulsion tests:...
, Japan, 1970–1992. It never carried any commercial cargo. - NS Otto HahnOtto Hahn (ship)Otto Hahn was one of only four nuclear-powered cargo vessels so far built. Planning of a German-built trade and research vessel to test the feasibility of nuclear power in civil service began in 1960, and Otto Hahns keel was laid down in 1963 by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG of Kiel...
, Germany, 1968–1979 (re-powered with diesel engine in 1979) - NS SavannahNS SavannahNS Savannah, named for SS Savannah, was the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million, including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core, funded by United States government agencies as a demonstration project for the potential...
, United States, 1962–1972 - NS SevmorputSevmorputSevmorput is a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaking LASH carrier and container ship. Delivered in 1988 and named after the Northern Sea Route , she is the last of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built and the only one still operating on nuclear power.- Development and construction :The...
, Russia (former Soviet Union), 1988– (still in operation).
Nuclear powered icebreakers
RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n (former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
):
- Ocean icebreakers
- NS Lenin (decommissioned, museum ship)
- NS ArktikaArktika (icebreaker)NS Arktika is a nuclear powered icebreaker of the Soviet Arktika class. In service since 1975, she was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, on August 17, 1977....
(inactive, awaiting refit or scrapping) - NS Sibir (inactive, awaiting refit or scrapping)
- NS Rossiya
- NS Sovjetskij Sojuz
- NS YamalYamal (icebreaker)The NS Yamal is a Russian Arktika class nuclear powered icebreaker operated by the Murmansk Shipping Company. It is named after the Yamal Peninsula in Northwest Siberia; the name means End of the Land in Nenets....
- NS 50 Let Pobedy, formerly the Ural
- River icebreakers
- NS TaimyrTaymyr (nuclear icebreaker)Taymyr is a shallow-draft nuclear powered icebreaker, and the first of two similar vessels. She was built in 1989 for the Soviet Union in Finland, at the Helsinki New Shipyard by Wärtsilä, by order of the Murmansk Shipping Co....
- NS VaigachVaygach (nuclear icebreaker)Vaygach is a shallow-draft nuclear powered icebreaker. She was built in 1989 for the Soviet Union in Finland, at the Helsinki New Shipyard by Wärtsilä, by order of the Murmansk Shipping Co....
- NS Taimyr
See also
- List of United States Naval reactors
- Naval ReactorsNaval ReactorsNaval Reactors is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the continued safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear propulsion program and thus for United States Naval reactors...
- Nuclear navyNuclear navyNuclear navy, or nuclear powered navy consists of ships powered by relatively small onboard nuclear reactors known as naval reactors. The concept was revolutionary for naval warfare when first proposed, as it meant that these vessels did not need to stop for fuel like their conventional...
- United States Naval reactorUnited States Naval reactorUnited States Naval reactor refers to nuclear reactors used by the United States Navy aboard certain ships to produce power for propulsion, electric power, catapulting airplanes in aircraft carriers, and a few more minor uses. Such Naval nuclear reactors have a complete power plant associated with...
- Knolls Atomic Power LaboratoryKnolls Atomic Power LaboratoryKnolls Atomic Power Laboratory is a research and development facility dedicated to the support of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. KAPL is a government-owned, contractor operated laboratory run by Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation for the United States Department of Energy. KAPL is...
- Soviet naval reactorSoviet naval reactorSoviet naval reactors have been used to power both military and civilian vessels, including:* Nuclear submarines:** Attack submarines.** Cruise missile submarines.** Ballistic missile submarines.* Nuclear icebreakers:** Soviet icebreaker Lenin....
- Army Nuclear Power ProgramArmy Nuclear Power ProgramThe Army Nuclear Power Program was a program of the United States Army to develop small pressurized water and boiling water nuclear power reactors to generate electrical and space-heating energy primarily at remote, relatively inaccessible sites. The ANPP had several notable accomplishments, but...
- Naval Nuclear Power School
- Echo class submarineEcho class submarineThe Echo class submarines were nuclear cruise missile submarines of the Soviet Navy built during the 1960s. Their Soviet designation was Project 659 class for the first five vessels, and Project 675 for the following twenty-nine...
- Air-independent propulsionAir-independent propulsionAir-independent propulsion is a term that encompasses technologies which allow a submarine to operate without the need to surface or use a snorkel to access atmospheric oxygen. The term usually excludes the use of nuclear power, and describes augmenting or replacing the diesel-electric propulsion...