World’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship to be decommissioned

January 11, 2023, 9:34AMRadwaste Solutions
The NS Savannah, the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship. (Photo: NARA)

The U.S. Department of Transportation has drafted a programmatic agreement (PA) on the decommissioning the NS Savannah, the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship. Christened in 1959 under President Dwight Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace initiative, which challenged world leaders to develop peaceful uses of nuclear power, the ship served as a demonstration project for the potential maritime use of nuclear energy.