Major milestone for nuclear-powered ships as IMO agrees to start revision of outdated regulations

The IMO has formally agreed to start the revision of outdated regulations for nuclear-powered ships.

The 110th session of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee heard proposals from several Member States and NGOs calling for a revision of the Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships and relevant parts of the SOLAS Convention.

A working group at MSC 110 prepared instructions for relevant sub-committees to initiate the revision. This Thursday (June 26), MSC 110 assigned this task to the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC), requesting SDC to start this work at the next session if possible. The next session of SDC is scheduled for January 2026.

A key part of the instructions for SDC when updating the Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships (Resolution A.491(XII)) is to ensure it is not limited to designs of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) with direct steam cycle propulsion systems, but adequately address recent advances in new nuclear technologies and the All-Electric-Ship concept.

During a presentation by the World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI) to MSC 110, just after IMO Member States had agreed that revision of the Nuclear Code should go ahead, Mikal Bøe, CEO of CORE POWER, thanked the IMO delegates for their support and welcomed closer links between the global maritime regulator and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“This means that we can move forward to create the international framework that governs the safety and security of civilian nuclear shipping,” said Bøe.

Later this year, the IAEA will formally launch the Atomic Technology Licensed for Application at Sea (ATLAS) project, which aims to facilitate the regulatory frameworks needed to deploy needed to deploy nuclear propulsion and floating nuclear power plants.