Nuclear-powered ships might not be the right move for cruise, but could be for other sectors of shipping.
Carnival Corp chief maritime officer William Burke gave a litany of reasons why a reactor on board could create issues for the cruise major during TradeWinds’ Green Seas Fuel Forum in New York on Thursday, while Cargill’s Eman Abdalla said she sees a future for nuclear in the industry.
“You have to consider a number of things when you think about nuclear,” Burke said during a panel on first movers in alternative fuelling.
“For the cruise industry, we frequently park downtown when we go to visit a port. Will we be able to park downtown in the 700 places we visit around the world [with a nuclear-powered ship]? If we can’t that’s probably not a fuel we want to use.”
Burke said he was overall a supporter of nuclear and has significant experience with the propulsion system, having commanded a squadron of submarines in the US Navy.
But the training is substantial, with navy personnel going through an intense training programme that includes receiving what Burke described as a masters in nuclear engineering in six months before six more months of land-based training before getting on board.
Maintenance can be an issue, too, he said.
“That makes it challenging to operate the cruise ship the way you want to,” he said.
Nuclear power has some backers in the industry, as a reactor on board is a cheap way to produce power without having to build out an entirely new fuelling supply chain.
Abdalla, Cargill Ocean Transportatin’s global operations director, said there will ultimately be a multitude of fuels available to help slash emissions.
“We also believe nuclear will, most likely — I won’t use the term definitely, though I’d like to — will be the end solution,” she said.
“In the end, the conclusion is we’re going to have a variety of options. that’s going to significantly change the demographics of how we trade ships.”
