Nuclear shipping rules gain momentum

The Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (NEMO) has convened a major international workshop in London, bringing together stakeholders from across the nuclear and maritime sectors.

The two-day ‘Nuclear Safety Applications at Sea’ event, hosted at Lloyd’s Register, gathered regulators, shipowners, classification societies, insurers and technical experts to assess how existing frameworks can be adapted for nuclear use at sea.

The discussions come as both the International Maritime Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency advance work on updating international rules, amid growing interest in nuclear propulsion as a pathway to decarbonise shipping.

“NEMO plays a unique convening role, bringing together regulators, industry and technical experts from across both the nuclear and maritime sectors,” said Virginia Crosbie, managing director of NEMO.

“This week’s workshop demonstrates how we can support the IMO and IAEA by providing a practical forum to inform the development of robust, internationally aligned standards for nuclear applications at sea.”

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Participants focused on practical safety considerations and identifying gaps in current regulation, as momentum builds behind nuclear as a potential zero-emission energy source for shipping.

“There can be no net zero without nuclear,” said Scott Edwards, chair of NEMO Working Group 2, Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards. “The focus now is on ensuring the frameworks are in place to enable safe and secure deployment.”

Industry leaders said collaboration across sectors will be critical as the technology moves closer to commercial reality.

“This level of cross-sector collaboration shows the pace at which this topic is developing,” said Mark Tipping, global director of Power-X at Lloyd’s Register. “Bringing together expertise from across nuclear and maritime is essential to addressing both safety and the wider decarbonisation challenge facing shipping.”

Outputs from the workshop will feed into upcoming regulatory discussions, including deliberations at the IMO, as stakeholders seek to establish globally aligned, workable standards for nuclear-powered vessels.