ABS, HD Hyundai team up to design nuclear-fuelled electric propulsion

Classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has partnered with units of HD Hyundai to develop a design for a nuclear-fuelled electric propulsion system for container ships.

IMAGE: Illustration of a nuclear-powered container ship. ENGINE via ChatGPT

The collaboration will assess the technical feasibility of deploying such a system on a 16,000 TEU container vessel.

The project involves HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding affiliates, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HD HSHI).

Under the agreement, HD KSOE and HD HSHI will work on the basic design, electrical component specifications and arrangement plans for a nuclear-powered electric propulsion system specifically tailored for container ships.

“This project represents an important step in exploring the potential of a nuclear-powered electric propulsion system for container vessels,” Matthew Mueller, vice president of ABS’ North Pacific Business Development, said.

In January, a study led by Fincantieri Group’s Norwegian subsidiary Vard, concluded that nuclear-powered offshore vessels are technically achievable.

By Tuhin Roy

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