Small Modular Reactors for Maritime Shipping: A Nuclear Propulsion Pathway
Nuclear power has already crossed oceans. The harder question is whether modern small modular reactors can be integrated, licensed and financed for merchant ships, and where they make sense first.In 2023 the International Maritime…
By Lakshya, Krish Uniyal and Raj Singh | International Maritime Institute, Greater Noida, India November 12, 2026
Nuclear power has already crossed oceans. The harder question is whether modern small modular reactors can be integrated, licensed and financed for merchant ships, and where they make sense first.
In 2023 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by around 2050. LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen each solve part of the problem and create another. Nuclear propulsion offers a different trade: fuel so energy-dense that a ship can sail for years without bunkering, with no combustion emissions at the point of use.
Nuclear ships are not new. Four civil vessels proved the concept decades ago. What is new is the Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and the fact that classification societies are now approving ship designs built around it. Our study asks whether SMR propulsion is a realistic option for merchant shipping. The short answer: promising for selected high-utilization ships, but not a universal replacement, and the barriers are as much institutional as technical.
This story was originally published by MarineLink. Read the full story at MarineLink →
Conversation