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Build nuclear powered ships to reduce oil consumption
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NS Savannah
More than 90% of shipping is done by ship. Container ships, dry bulk carriers, oil tankers and others carry the products of international trade. These ships mostly run on bunker oil; a very low grade, cheap oil that is at the bottom of the barrel in oil quality. Much of it is high sulphur and very dirty to burn. Ships burn it mostly at sea so most pollution occurs away from land. There are efforts underway in harbors like Los Angeles to get ships to hook up to shore power while they are in port to reduce the emissions. Ships typically keep their boilers running to supply the ship with power while docked. Each of these ships burn tens-of-thousands of gallons of fuel per day. The total amount of oil burned by commercial shipping amounts to 8 to 10 million barrels per day, or about 10% or more of our total world oil production (Best estimate I could find).
There are efforts to reduce the amount of oil these ships burn. Sails are being tried on some of these big ships to use wind power to decrease the amount of oil burned. Some tests have shown savings of 20% (must be the downwind leg of the voyage). Other shippers are lowering the speed of their ships. This can save a lot of fuel, but increases the amount of travel time thus offsetting some of the fuel savings with lower revenue. The ships running slower carry less cargo because they can’t make as many trips per year.
Shipping is one place where we have the technology to completely replace oil with nuclear power. Nuclear reactors have been successfully used on ships for decades. A nuclear powered ship has the advantage of going for years without the need to refuel. These ships can run at full speed with little incremental cost difference.
The United States built a nuclear powered cargo ship in 1959; the NS Savannah. It operated from 1962 to 1972. The ship was operationally successful, but not commercially successful because it was designed to only carry 8,500 tons of cargo. The ship was decommissioned in 1972. The ship is currently in Baltimore undergoing repairs and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The U.S. Maritime Administration owns the ship and hopes to turn it into a floating museum.
The United States has the technology to build and operate a whole fleet of nuclear powered cargo ships. Our navy has been building nuclear powered naval ships since the 1950’s when the Nautilus nuclear powered submarine was constructed. Our navy operates nuclear powered aircraft carriers and submarines today. We should use our nuclear marine propulsion technology to start building nuclear powered container ships and bulk carriers. This would not only reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, but would also create a large number of good, high paying jobs. Because of security considerations, these ships would need to be operated by Americans or other trusted people to make sure radioactive materials are not diverted into the wrong hands (more jobs).
