Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute reposted this
We are delighted to announce a Conference on Nuclear Shipping, which will take place in London on 3rd February 2025. Nuclear power is particularly suitable for vessels which need to be at sea for long periods without refueling, or for powerful submarine propulsion. Currently, over 160 ships are powered by more than 200 small nuclear reactors. Most are submarines, but they range from icebreakers to aircraft carriers. Development of nuclear merchant ships began in the 1950s but on the whole has not been commercially successful. In future, constraints on fossil fuel use in transport may bring marine nuclear propulsion into more widespread use. So far, safety concerns have caused political restriction on port access, and liability issues have been the object of the Convention on the Liability of Operators of Nuclear Ships and Additional Protocol, adopted at the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law in Brussels in 1962. The Convention was an attempt to establish an international regime for nuclear ship liability. However, it faced significant challenges in gaining widespread acceptance. In fact, it never entered into force. This Event is a part of the ongoing series of cross-disciplinary Conferences organised by the IML and funded by Gard SA; the aim of the Conference is to discuss the current technological status of nuclear propelled shipping, possible future developments and legal labilities. This will be done from a multidisciplinary perspective, with speakers from industry, regulatory bodies, legal practice, naval and nuclear engineering. Register for the event here: https://lnkd.in/eaQ88j5D