China has unveiled a conceptual design to build what could potentially become the world's largest nuclear-powered container ship, official media here reported on Thursday.
According to the design, the vessel, which is yet to be named, will be powered by molten salt reactors and will have the capacity to carry 24,000 standard containers.
The conceptual design is made by China State Shipbuilding Corp's Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. The ship's design has got an Approval in Principle certificate from the DNV, one of the world's leading classification societies, state-run China Daily reported.
\"Shipbuilders around the world have been under huge pressure from shipping businesses, investors, and environmentalists to find cleaner fuel solutions. It is only natural for us to consider nuclear power,\" it quoted an official as saying.
\"Its overall design is based on those of our well-developed container ships. Engineers will only need to modify its power and propulsion systems to fit the nuclear energy,\" the official said.
Currently, Russia's Sevmorput ship, built in 1988, is the only nuclear-powered cargo vessel in active service in the world.
According to a press release by Jiangnan Shipyard, in addition to the advantages of its nuclear system, the ship will also feature high speed, easy controls and more space for containers, the report said.
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