NS Savannah

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NS Savannah, the first nuclear powered cargo-passenger ship

NS Savannah, named for SS Savannah, the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean, was the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, one of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built.

1 Creation
2 Economics of Nuclear Propulsion
3 Museum Ship
4 General characteristics
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Creation

In 1955, President of the United States Dwight Eisenhower proposed building a nuclear powered merchant ship. The next year, Congress authorized NS Savannah as a joint project of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Maritime Administration, and the Department of Commerce. She was designed by George G. Sharp, Incorporated, of New York City. Her keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey. Her nuclear reactor was manufactured by Babcock and Wilcox. She was launched on March 23, 1962, sponsored by First Lady of the United States Mamie Eisenhower as a showcase for President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative.

[edit] Economics of Nuclear Propulsion

The NS Savannah passing under the Golden Gate Bridge

Savannah was a demonstration of the technical feasibility of nuclear propulsion for merchant ships and was not expected to be commercially competitive. She was designed to be visually impressive, looking more like a luxury yacht than a bulk cargo vessel, and was equipped with thirty air-conditioned staterooms (each with an individual bath), a dining facility for 100 passengers, a lounge that could double as a movie theater, a veranda, a swimming pool and a library. By many measures, the ship was a success. She performed well at sea, her safety record was impressive, her fuel economy was unsurpassed, and her gleaming white paint was never smudged by exhaust smoke. Even her cargo handling equipment was designed to look good. From 1965 to 1971, the Maritime Administration leased Savannah to American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines for revenue cargo service.

However, Savannah's cargo space was limited to 8,500 tons of freight in 652,000 cubic feet (18,000 m³). Many of her competitors could accommodate several times as much. Her streamlined hull made loading the forward holds laborious, which became a significant disadvantage as ports became more and more automated. Her crew was a third larger than comparable oil-fired ships and received special training after completing all training requirements for conventional maritime licenses. Her operating budget included the maintenance of a separate shore organization for negotiating her port visits and a personalized shipyard facility for completing any needed repairs.

No ship with these disadvantages could hope to be commercially successful. Her passenger space was wasted while her cargo capacity was insufficient. As a result of her design handicaps, Savannah cost approximately US$2 million a year more in operating subsidies than a similarly sized Mariner-class ship with a conventional oil-fired steam plant. The Maritime Administration decommissioned her in 1972 to save costs, a decision that made sense when fuel oil cost US$20 per ton. In 1974, however, when fuel oil cost $80 per ton following an energy crisis, Savannah's operating costs would have been no greater than a conventional cargo ship. (Maintenance and eventual disposal are other issues, of course.)

For a short period of time during the 1970s, after the Savannah was decommissioned, she was stored in Galveston, Texas and was a familiar sight to many travellers on Texas Highway 87 as they crossed Boliver Roads on the free ferry service operated by the Texas Department of Highways.

[edit] Museum Ship

In 1981, the Savannah was obtained via bareboat charter for display at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Although the museum had use of the vessel, ownership of Savannah remained with the Maritime Administration, and the Patriots Point Development Authority had to be designated a "co-licensee" for the ship's reactor. Periodic radiological inspections were also necessary to ensure the continued safety of the ship. Once Savannah was open for display, visitors could tour the ship's cargo holds, view the reactor spaces from an observation window, look into staterooms and passenger areas, and walk the ship's decks.

The museum had hoped to recondition and improve the ship's public spaces for visitors, but these plans never materialized. Savannah never drew the visitors that the museum's other ships, notably the aircraft carrier Yorktown, did. When a periodic MARAD inspection in 1993 indicated the need for dry docking the Savannah, Patriots Point and the Maritime Administration agreed to terminate the ship's charter in 1994. The ship was moved from the museum and dry docked in Baltimore in 1994 for the repairs, after which she was moved to the James River Merchant Marine Reserve Fleet near Newport News, Virginia.

The Maritime Administration has funded decommissioning and removal of the ship's nuclear systems at Colonna's Shipyard of Norfolk, Virginia beginning 15 August 2006. Since the NS Savannah is historically significant and has been designated a National Historic Landmark, MARAD has expressed interest in offering the ship for preservation once Savannah's DDR (Decommissioning, Decontamination and Radiological) work is completed.

[edit] General characteristics

The pressurized water reactor of NS Savannah

Displacement: 22,000 tons
Length: 596 ft (180 m) overall
Beam: 78 ft (23.8 m)
Complement: 124 crew, 60 passengers
Cruising Speed: 21 knots (40 km/h)
Top Speed: 24 knots (47 km/h)
Power: 74 MW, 20,300 hp to a single propeller
Load carrying capacity: 14,040 tons
Watertight compartments: 14
Loading spaces: 6
Reactor Manufacturer: Babcock & Wilcox
Builders: New York Shipbuilding, Camden, NJ
Cost: $46,900,000 ($18,600,000 for the ship, and $28,300,000 for the nuclear plant and fuel)
Range: 300,000 miles at 20 knots on one single load of 32 fuel elements.