Jiangnan Shipbuilding’s nuclear-powered boxship concept gets DNV nod

China’s Jiangnan Shipbuilding received approval from DNV for its nuclear-powered container ship concept at Marintec China 2023 in Shanghai last week.

PHOTO: Jiangnan Shipbuilding’s nuclear-powered container ship concept. CGTN

The shipbuilder, which is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), received approval from the classification society DNV for a 24,000 TEU nuclear-powered container ship concept.

The ship will utilise “fourth-generation molten salt reactor technology, which features a very high level of operational safety and an abundance of fail-safe measures,” according to Chinese state-run news channel CGTN.

A molten salt reactor (MSR) is a type of advanced nuclear reactor design that uses liquid fluoride or chloride salts as both the fuel and the coolant.

The company has kept many details of the project under wraps, but this ship could be the world's first and largest nuclear-powered container ship.

Other approvals

During the same event, Jiangnan’s ammonia floating storage re-gasification unit (FSRU) and LNG FSRU concepts were approved by classification societies Lloyd's Register (LR) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), respectively.

FSRUs are vessels that can transport, store and regasify fuels (ammonia or LNG). After production, the fuel is transported in liquid form to the FSRU where it is stored before being heated onboard, converted into a gas and finally delivered onshore via a pipeline.

LR also greenlighted the Chinese shipbuilder’s ammonia-fuelled large container ship concept.

By Tuhin Roy

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online