The NS Savannah in 1962. (Photo: DOE)
In commemoration of National Maritime Day, there will be an open house on the NS Savannah this Sunday, May 18, in Baltimore, Md. The world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship, Savannah was built through a joint program between the Atomic Energy Commission and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) as part of President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program.
Learn more: For more details on Sunday’s tour of the Savannah, click here.
Officially designated as a Nuclear Historic Landmark by ANS in 1991—one of many other historic designations—the ship maintains a unique and important legacy in our nuclear history. It will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to the public with no RSVP needed.
There will be a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. as well as tours exploring the entirety of the ship—but the highlight of this year’s open house is that Savannah’s post-decommissioning containment vessel will be open for tours for the first time. Walkways and inclined ladders have been installed throughout the containment vessel allow visitors a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore.
Some history: A year and a half after his seminal Atoms for Peace speech, President Eisenhower announced the Savannah project to a surprised crowd in April 1955. Authorized by Congress in July 1956, Savannah entered service in May 1962 and was removed in July 1970. In that time, the ship visited 32 domestic and 45 international ports, covering the East, Gulf, and West coasts; Hawaii; the Far East; northern Europe; and the Mediterranean. Its core was shuffled in 1968, and four new fuel elements were installed. The ship traveled more than 450,000 nautical miles on cores I and Ia, consuming 163 pounds of enriched uranium—the equivalent of 28,600,000 gallons of bunker C fuel oil.
In those eight years, the ship served as a floating ambassador for the safe and peaceful use of nuclear power. It was named after the revolutionary SS Savannah of 1819, the first steamship to make a transoceanic voyage. In addition to its peace objectives, Congress also hoped that this first civilian deployment of nuclear power in the maritime sector could lead to myriad technical, administrative, and legal solutions to issues facing the industry.
The ship’s design centered around a 69-MWt (later uprated to 80 MWt) pressurized water reactor with twin steam generators and primary coolant loops.
