We can do better than “same, but electric”

Re:We can do better than “same, but electric” by krasin on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @12:00AM (#30838619)

>There is never going to be a civilian-controlled ship with a nuclear reactor

Not only they exist for decades, but as recently as January 2022, you could have bought tickets for a nuclear ship cruise: https://poseidonexpeditions.com/northpole/north-pole-icebrea...

Also, the nuclear container ship (the old one, but still in service): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevmorput

The link I shared is about a Chinese nuclear icebreaker that is supposed to lead container ships behind. Then there's no difference in terms of security if there's just one nuclear ship in a caravan or all of them.

As for Chinese specifically planning for nuclear powered container ships, I can offer this speculation: https://www.neimagazine.com/opinion/opinionpropelling-decarb...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:We can do better than “same, but electric” by paxys on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @12:05AM (#30838650)

Like I said in another comment, every single such vessel in existence (the container ship you linked and all the ice breakers) is owned and operated by the Russian government and operates in Russian-controlled waters (or has an escort). This is not a model that can be used for global shipping.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:We can do better than “same, but electric” by krasin on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @12:09AM (#30838670)

You have a point. Let's wait until China deploys their fleet. Going to be a long wait (15-20 years), but it is my strong belief that they will do it. I might be proven wrong, of course.

[ Parent | on HN ]