The administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing to build a fleet of nuclear-powered merchant ships through a public-private partnership with a British company to counter China's shipbuilding industry, the British daily Financial Times reported on the 24th (local time).

Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmack of the US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced in an interview with FT that a public-private memorandum of understanding would be signed that day with Core Power, a company headquartered in London.

The company has established a cooperative relationship with the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, US.

Carmack said the signing of the memorandum will accelerate the development of nuclear propulsion technology for maritime shipping, adding that they will compete with China's shipbuilding industry on technology rather than price.

The goal is to accelerate the creation of a US-flagged nuclear-powered merchant fleet by establishing a regulatory framework that ensures rapid licensing, insurance acquisition, port access, and high safety standards.

Core Power plans to begin construction of its first nuclear-powered vessel in 2028.

The company stated that it has raised about 200 million dollars, or approximately 277 billion won in Korean currency, from investors including major Japanese conglomerates such as Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo.

The agreement does not include federal funding guarantees.

Although nuclear propulsion technology has been used in military submarines for decades, it has failed to attract interest from the commercial sector due to high construction costs, port entry bans, and complex international liability regulations.

Currently, the country with the most civilian nuclear-powered ships is Russia, which has widely adopted the technology for Arctic icebreakers.

In June of this year, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) issued Approval in Principle, an initial-stage evaluation, for a nuclear-powered vessel design proposed by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) marine consortium.

At an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) event in Washington this week, senior US officials are scheduled to meet with representatives from countries such as Britain, France, Japan, and South Korea to discuss the development of nuclear shipping technology.

Mikal Bøe, CEO of Core Power, said it is strategically essential for the US and its allies to pursue nuclear-powered merchant ships because China is moving in that direction.

He stated that nuclear propulsion increases vessel speeds by 50% to 75% and allows them to carry more cargo, making it competitive compared to current fossil fuel-based systems.

"There are 8,200 ships suitable for nuclear propulsion that need to be replaced over the next 25 years," he said. "We think we can capture 10 to 20 percent of those during that period."

According to Core Power's estimates, the fuel cost per ton over the lifecycle of a nuclear-powered vessel is expected to be between 690,000 and 830,000 won, a level comparable to conventional shipping fuels.

While many of the technical hurdles have been overcome, shipowners remain skeptical about liability issues in the event of an accident and the cost of the vessels.

Themisplokis Sapsis, a professor at the MIT consortium, explained that nuclear ships cannot become a reality without insurance because "someone has to pay the price if something goes wrong."

He also noted that advances in reactor designs have improved safety, which is important for building favorable public opinion for nuclear-powered ships that require a common regulatory framework to move from country to country.

Industry executives also point out that nuclear-powered vessels will bring an entirely new economic model to the industry.

Currently, it is common for the charterer of a vessel to cover the fuel costs required for a voyage.

However, because nuclear-powered ships purchase their fuel at the time of construction and can operate for more than 20 years, costs are expected to be shared in a different way.

This has led to projections that new opportunities could be created to invest directly in capital expenditures during ship construction to ease the burden on shipowners and operators.

Concerns also remain regarding securing enough nuclear engineers to serve on commercial vessels, arranging resources to train existing crews, and public acceptance of nuclear-powered ships docking in ports.

Most industry executives forecast that nuclear-powered ships will enter service no earlier than the 2030s.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)