The economics of nuclear propulsion for containerships

The maritime shipping sector, which accounts for 80% of global trade by volume, faces a significant challenge in decarbonising. This article examines the economic competitiveness of nuclear containerships, drawing on current industrial and academic literature on nuclear power integration in maritime shipping. First, we analyse the design and operational characteristics influenced by nuclear power adoption and identify key barriers to its deployment. Second, we develop a scenario-based model to assess the economic competitiveness of nuclear-powered containerships compared to conventional and alternative fuel systems, using the Levelised Cost of Transport as the primary metric. We show that nuclear power applied to containership propulsion may represent an economically competitive solution in specific scenarios characterised by high cruising speeds and favourable CAPEX for nuclear reactor engines. The learning process of building and operating nuclear containerships might play a key role in making this technological option economically viable at scale.