Lloyd’s Register leads team to deliver ‘safe, secure and sustainable nuclear-powered ships’
Leading UK companies have formed a consortium as they take a “decisive step” towards leading the global race to decarbonise shipping and set out plans for a nuclear-powered fleet.
The Maritime Nuclear Consortium, convened by Lloyd’s Register, unites expertise from the nuclear, maritime, insurance and regulatory sectors to set the highest international standards for commercially viable nuclear-powered ships.
Lloyds Register, the London-based technical and professional services organisation and maritime classification society, said in a statement that maritime nuclear power is a proven, advanced and safe energy source that can tackle one of the toughest challenges in the energy transition.
It said the next generation of advanced modular reactors will allow ships to sail for years without refuelling, with zero carbon emissions and rigorous safety built in from the start.
“Nuclear produces no CO2,” the statement said. “Reactors run for years, not weeks. With no need to trade efficiency for emissions standards, ships can run at full design speed instead of slow steaming.”
The Consortium’s Core Membership
The core membership of the UK-led consortium includes Lloyd’s Register (lead, safety and secretariat), Rolls-Royce (reactor design), Babcock International Group (ship design, construction and support), Global Nuclear Security Partners (security and safeguards), Stephenson Harwood (legal and regulatory) and NorthStandard (insurance).
Lloyds Register said the UK has a long history of leading maritime innovation and is now in a strong position to support the safe adoption of maritime nuclear power. “With trusted regulators, world-class engineering and shipbuilding, and decades of naval nuclear experience, it has the credibility to shape international standards from the start,” it said.
It said the UK also offers a complete ecosystem to support nuclear shipping – covering design, regulation, finance and insurance. But the window for leadership is narrowing. Other nations are moving quickly to set their own standards and develop technology.
“Without coordinated UK action, the chance to define the rules, create high-skilled jobs and anchor a global supply chain could be lost to faster competitors.”
The consortium initially aims to demonstrate a statement of design acceptability for a generic, site-licensed advanced modular reactor and develop a class certification framework integrating nuclear and maritime regulation.
It will define a security and safeguards architecture to meet regulatory requirements, establish insurance solutions for nuclear-powered vessels and publish guidance for industry and government to accelerate safe adoption.
A recent report that Lloyds Register helped produce suggested that manufactured nuclear propulsion units for container ships could reach commercial readiness within four years of starting an intensive deployment programme, with the potential to eliminate operating costs of up to $68m (€58m) annually.
Roadmap Warns Of ‘Considerable Challenges’
In October Lloyd’s Register published a guidance document, Navigating Nuclear Energy in Maritime, providing what it said is the first roadmap for the use of nuclear technology in commercial shipping and offshore industries, but warning of “considerable challenges”.
Global shipping currently depends on fossil fuels for close to 99% of its energy consumption, but the International Maritime Organisation is aiming for its greenhouse gas emissions to reach net zero by around 2050.
There have been a number of calls to advance the development and deployment of nuclear-powered shipping.
International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi has been calling for a roadmap for nuclear energy to become a viable option to reduce commercial shipping’s global greenhouse gas emissions.
Christopher Wiernicki, chairman and chief executive officer of the American Bureau of Shipping maritime classification society said last year that new nuclear can be a transformational technology for the shipping industry, but challenges remain including the need for a new commercial model and for public/private partnerships in a bid to finance development and deployment.
In 2024 the maritime industry unveiled its first comprehensive rules for nuclear-powered vessels as the sector lays the groundwork for deploying onboard reactors.
Global shipping currently depends on fossil fuels for close to 99% of its energy consumption. Courtesy Hapag-Lloyd.
