Exclusive | Jiangnan Shipyard to build world’s first thorium-powered container vessel by 2035
Construction on 25,000-container ship could start in the next 10 years, but a lot remains to be done, a top executive says
State-owned Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) plans to build the world’s first nuclear-powered container vessel, a move that would cement China’s dominance in an industry increasingly shifting to renewable energy.
“We will also invest in building shipyards slated for constructing nuclear-powered [container] vessels,” Lin said in an interview with the Post during the Marintec China conference in Shanghai. “Jiangnan aims to be a front runner in this field.”
The executive declined to disclose the investment required for such a purpose-built shipyard for building nuclear-powered vessels.
Ma Yunxiang, assistant president of Jiangnan’s parent China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), said at the Marintec event, which ended on Friday, that the world’s largest shipbuilding conglomerate would build more cruise liners, deep-ocean drilling ships and nuclear-powered vessels to move up the value chain.
The vessels designed by Jiangnan would be powered by a thorium-based molten salt reactor with an output of 200 megawatts, Lin said. He added that it was one of six internationally recognised fourth-generation reactor designs, with a lifespan of 40 years.