Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Why Did The NS Savannah Fail? Can She Really be Called a Failure?

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(Post was originally published on July 1, 1995. It was updated on April 2, 2011 to include information and videos that were not available in when it was first written. The title has also been revised to open up a new discussion – was the NS Savannah a failure or a successful demonstration of a technology whose time has not quite arrived?)

On Friday, March 23, 1962, the N.S. Savannah became the first nuclear merchant ship at sea. In 1972, after ten years of demonstrations and operations, she was laid up in an effort to reduce spending by the Maritime Administration.

In the lore of the nuclear industry, her early retirement proved that nuclear power was not a viable option for commercial shipping. Once again, Atomic Insights will discuss why we believe that the conventional wisdom is wrong.

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In the news: July 1995

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U. S. House votes against Yucca Mountain

(May 18, 1995) The House of Representatives voted to stop funding the permanent spent fuel repository currently planned for Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The budget for the site would reach zero in 1997 according to the House plan. It left open the possibility of using the Nevada Test site as a temporary storage site for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel.

Maine Yankee to be repaired

(May 24, 1995) The directors of the Maine Yankee nuclear power station have approved a $40 million plan to repair cracked steam generator U-tubes. The tubes will be “sleeved” a process that involves inserting smaller tubes into the existing tubes.

Egypt welcomes private nuclear investors

(May 29, 1995) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stated that his government would welcome privately funded nuclear projects to supply the national grid. He stated that his government had no intention of becoming involved in a nuclear project as an investor or owner because of the capital required and the suspicion it might arouse about Egypt’s nuclear weapons intentions. Egypt had ambitious plans for nuclear power stations during the 1970s and 1980s but shelved them after oil prices fell sharply in 1985.

Department of the Interior transfers Ward Valley site

(May 31, 1995) Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt approved the transfer of federal land in the Mojave Desert to the state of California. The land will become the Ward Valley low-level radioactive waste storage site. The decision was announced three weeks after the National Academy of Sciences issued a report calling the risk of environmental damage from the site “highly unlikely.”

Czech engineering group offers expertise

(May 29, 1995) Skoda, a Czech company that installed 24 Soviet -designed VVER light-water reactors between 1980 and 1993, has announced its interest in providing reactors to North Korea. “We would be competitors to the South Korean solution, because North Korea will probably not accept the South Korean solution,” said chief executive Lubomir Soudek.

Historical Repetition?: Will Nuclear Propulsion Follow Steam Propulsion?

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These are not the comments of people with a vested interest in nuclear power. They are the words of professional mariners and historians who understand the importance of propulsion machinery in ocean commerce.The following is a sampling of comments on nuclear merchant ships from before 1973. Here are the observations of retired ship captain Alan […]

Marine Nuclear Propulsion: The Undeniable Facts

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Many observers deny that the success of nuclear propulsion for warships has any relationship to the possibility of success in a commercial endeavor. They claim that the costs are far too high, that merchant ships do not obtain much benefit from high speed endurance, or that the public will not accept nuclear powered shipping. There, […]

Letter from the Editor: Wasted Nuclear Knowledge

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I spent 12 years in the U.S. Navy learning how to operate nuclear heated engines at sea. The most challenging and rewarding job during those years was serving as the Engineer Officer (what surface ships would call the Chief Engineer Officer) of the USS Von Steuben, SSBN 632 (GOLD). I have also spent several years […]