Norway-based registrar and classification society DNV has ended its long-standing opposition to nuclear power in shipping, saying progress in small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced reactor technologies could make nuclear propulsion commercially viable and accelerate maritime decarbonisation.

However, overcoming remaining technical, regulatory and societal barriers “will require coordinated global action, technological innovation and closely aligned regulatory frameworks,” said DNV Maritime chief executive officer Knut Orbeck-Nilssen.

The policy shift coincides with DNV granting HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) an approval in principle (AiP) for an SMR-powered containership design.