The future of nuclear power as a means of propulsion in merchant shipping

Nuclear Power is an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels and renewable sources of energy. Nuclear reactors have been implemented onboard ships and spaceships showing the scope of its applications. The focus of this research is in the area of merchant shipping and in particular the research is concerned with the future of nuclear power being used as a means of propulsion by the world’s merchant fleet. The study examines the milestones of nuclear propulsion and its various advantages and disadvantages. Such a study is important in order to revisit the nuclear power debate and provide a constructive argument on its usage on merchant ships. The research approach adopted in this dissertation includes an extensive study of relevant literature of secondary qualitative data. The findings from this research provide evidence that nuclear power may play a major role in powering merchant ships in the future and despite its current high initial capital costs, these may be offset by its low operating costs and the increasing fuel and coal prices. Furthermore, nuclear power could become popular in the decades to come as studies show that fossil fuel will be depleted. Renewable sources of energy are deemed to be insufficient in meeting the energy demands of modern ships while nuclear power’s impacts on the environment will be minimal. However, fears about nuclear accidents aboard ships and the subsequent potential denial of ports to accept such ships are not to be neglected. The high capital to fund such ships, the liability of these ships, the availability of nuclear fuel and the fear of terrorist attacks also need to be addressed. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that nuclear power as a means of propulsion for merchant ships would be beneficial for numerous reasons. However, some drawbacks and concerns need to be addressed first.Business Shcoo