Is There Any Nuclear-Powered Cruise Ship?

By Robert Palmer

The idea of a nuclear-powered cruise ship has been around since the 1950s. But, is there any nuclear-powered cruise ship in service today? In short, no.

At present, no cruise ships use nuclear power as their main source of propulsion. This is largely due to safety and environmental concerns related to the operation of nuclear reactors at sea. Additionally, the cost of outfitting a vessel with a nuclear reactor makes it far too expensive for most commercial operations.

That said, some ships have used nuclear power as an auxiliary or emergency power source. For example, in the 1970s the Royal Navy operated HMS Dreadnought, a submarine powered by a small reactor.

The reactor was used to provide power while submerged and was not used while the sub was surfaced. The same concept has been applied to some research vessels, such as the Russian Akademik Lomonosov or the USNS Laurence M. Gould. In these cases, reactors are only used for navigation and other non-propulsion related tasks when in port or at sea.

In addition to military and research vessels, there has also been some interest from commercial operators in utilizing nuclear power for propulsion on large vessels such as cruise ships. In particular, French firm Alstom proposed building a series of five cruise ships powered by two small reactors each back in 2008. However, despite initial interest from potential customers such as Cunard Line and Royal Caribbean International, no orders were placed and the project was eventually abandoned due to safety and cost concerns.

Conclusion:

While there are currently no operational commercial cruise ships powered by nuclear energy, there have been several attempts over the years to develop such vessels including Alstom’s 2008 proposal for five dual-reactor ships that ultimately did not come to fruition due to safety and cost concerns. While it is possible that technological advances could eventually make nuclear-powered cruise ships viable for commercial operations in future years, for now they remain firmly outside of mainstream maritime operations.