Korean shipping majors join project to build nuclear-powered ships

Nine South Korean container liners and research institutions have agreed to develop nuclear-powered ships.

PHOTO: Representatives participating in a signing ceremony of an agreement to develop and build nuclear-powered ships. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute

Parties to the agreement include shipping companies H-Line Shipping, HMM, Wooyang Merchant Marine and Janggeum Merchant Marine

The project partners aim to build a small modular reactor (SMR), a type of nuclear reactor that produces low-carbon energy, suitable for ships. The SMR will be a molten salt reactor, which can safeguard against marine accidents by solidifying the liquid nuclear fuel inside it in case of any abnormalities.

Unlike diesel engines, this type of nuclear propulsion can be an eco-friendly energy source, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) said.

The parties to the agreement will also look into developing relevant marine systems to support nuclear-powered ships.

Besides the shipping companies and KAERI, the partners to the agreement include the authorities of Gyeongju city and the Gyeongbuk Province, the Korean Research Institute of Ship & Ocean Engineering and the Korean Register.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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