This video was made possible by Audible. Get
your first audiobook for free at audible.com/mustard At first glance, the N.S. Savannah looked like an ordinary cruise ship. With a pool for taking a dip, a dining room,
and a lounge that doubled as a movie theatre. But there’s one thing that set this ship
apart from any other. Inside this unmarked space, just a few meters
from the passenger staterooms was a nuclear reactor. Something unheard of on a passenger-carrying
ship before or since. And it meant the N.S. Savannah could do incredible things. Like circle the earth for years without ever
stopping. In the 1960’s, nuclear power was viewed
as a revolutionary, near limitless source of energy. But what was less certain, was whether putting
a nuclear reactor aboard a civilian ship was really a good idea. As one of the first ships powered by a nuclear
reactor, N.S. Savannah was going to prove that nuclear power
was a safe, clean and near limitless source of energy that could revolutionize ships. Because to make a one trip around the earth,
a typical ship will burn through more than twenty thousand barrels of bunker oil. All the while, billowing toxic smoke into
the atmosphere. The N.S. Savannah was designed to make that same trip
without burning anything at all. Because it could circle the earth using just
a few pounds of a new kind of fuel called uranium. Replacing an oil burning engine with a small
nuclear reactor promised to make ships of the future more economical, faster and reliable. It would also eliminate the need for large
fuel tanks, freeing up more room for cargo and passengers. Nuclear-powered ships could also travel for
years on end before needing to refuel, and at much higher speeds. Opening up new trade routes that could reshape
maritime trade. But despite all the promise of nuclear power,
the world had good reason to be skeptical. In the 1950s, nuclear really only meant one
thing. Its enormous destructive potential and the
hidden dangers of radiation were widely feared. Nuclear weapons had been around for nearly
a decade, but the peaceful use of nuclear energy was still a new concept. So in 1953, U.S. President Eisenhour launched
the Atoms for Peace program. In an effort to win over hearts and minds,
research, funding and equipment would be sent throughout the world to advance the peaceful
use of nuclear energy. And the N.S. Savannah would be built as a floating example
of what an atomic-powered future could offer. As the first of its kind, the ship would carry
both passengers and cargo at the same time. Demonstrating that nuclear power could be
safe and viable for all kinds of uses out at sea. The N.S. Savannah was designed to look like the ship
of the future. From the teardrop shaped superstructure to
the streamlined cargo cranes, everything about this ship was designed to stand out. But what really set it apart was the powerplant. At the heart of Savannah was a 74 megawatt
Pressurized Water Reactor. Its role was to generate heat, creating steam
to drive the ship’s turbines. The reactor was a complex piece of machinery,
but it worked on a relatively simple principle. Inside, uranium fuel elements are bombarded
with neutrons. In a process called nuclear fission,the neutrons
split apart uranium atoms, releasing energy in the form of radiation and heat. As the uranium atoms split, they release additional
neutrons which collide with other atoms, creating a chain reaction. It’s a carefully controlled process that
releases an enormous amount of energy. But it also produces harmful radiation. So, safety was at the forefront of every aspect
of Savannah’s design. To keep passengers and crew safe, mere meters
from the reactor, engineers built in layers of protection. The reactor was surrounded by a primary radiation
shield, a thick steel containment vessel and a 500 ton biological shield. All of which were designed to stop stray neutrons
and radioactive material from escaping. Radiation exposure to passengers and crew
would be kept well within safe limits. On most parts of the ship, it would be indistinguishable
from natural background radiation. But engineers also had to account for the
fact that ships that face rough weather, get into accidents, and in the worst case, sink. To counter severe weather, Savannah featured
one of the first ship stabilization systems, using hydraulically-actuated fins to counter
rolling motions. The ship also featured a reinforced hull and
energy absorbing structures to protect against collision with another ship. And in the unlikely event that Savannah were
to sink, the reactor was designed to automatically shut down and one-way valves would flood the
containment vessel with seawater, preventing radioactive material from escaping. Engineers had thought of every possible disaster
scenario and Savannah’s builder’s boldly claimed that their ship was one of the safest
ever built. All that was left, was to convince the world. Though it had taken six years to develop and
build, Savannah surprised even its designers. The reactor produced more power than anticipated. The ship was designed to top out at 20 knots,
but could easily surge along at 24. Among the grimy, soot covered merchant ships
of the era, Savannah was undeniably striking. In May of 1964, Savannah set sail on an ambitious
world tour to demonstrate the merits of nuclear power. Over the course of a year, it made visits
to U.S. cities along the eastern seaboard and to over a dozen European ports, crossing
the Atlantic several times in process. The ship traveled nearly 150,000 kilometers,
using only 35 pounds of uranium. Each time Savannah pulled into a new port,
huge crowds formed to greet it. In the first year alone, 1.4 million people
lined up to tour the ship. Savannah’s world tour had gone fantastically
well, generating enormous public interest and plenty of positive press Savannah’s commercial operator was so happy
with the ship’s performance, they urged congress to fund another four nuclear ships
based on Savannah's design. And back in the United States, additional
crews were being trained in anticipation of serving aboard future nuclear ships. If nuclear propulsion really was the future,
momentum seemed to be building. Savannah had made nuclear propulsion look
easy, as the ship cruised effortly from port to port. But hidden behind the sleek lines and gleaming
white paint stood a harsh reality. There was nothing straightforward about operating
a nuclear ship. Before Savannah could pull into a port, it
needed special permission. And the request had to be made months in advance. And Ports often refused over safety concerns. So behind the scenes, Savannah's representatives
would have to fly out well in advance to begin negotiating agreements. Covering everything from how to respond if
the ship were to cause a nuclear accident, to who would be liable. Gut-level scepticism about floating nuclear
reactors wasn’t going to disappear overnight. And to make matters worse, Savannah’s design
wasn’t very practical. The unusual half-passenger half-cargo configuration
meant the ship wasn't good at carrying either. The passenger accommodations took up a lot
of space, while the cargo holds were too small. And with so much emphasis having been placed
on an eye-catching design, the ship's sleek lines made cargo handling difficult. Savannah also needed a highly-trained crew
about a third larger than on a conventional ship. For a ship built to prove that nuclear power
could be commercially viable, Savannah seemed to do the opposite. Even as the ship’s operator publicly boasted
about Savannah's performance, their operating costs were heavily subsidized, consuming millions
each year in taxpayer money. But in one very important way, the Savannah
could still be considered a success. Because It helped inspire other countries
to build their own nuclear powered ships. In 1964, West Germany launched the NS Otto
Hahn. A nuclear powered ore carrying freighter. It was celebrated as Germany's ship of the
future. And like Savannah, the prototype ship was
supposed to prove the viability of nuclear propulsion. But it didn't generate quite the same fanfare
as Savannah and would face growing opposition. Many countries denied Otto Hahn permission
to enter their ports and it was outright banned from sailing through the Suez and Panama canals. A third, Japanese Nuclear Ship would do much
worse. The NS Mutsu was supposed to pave the way
for a whole fleet of high-speed nuclear freighters. Instead, the ship would only spur anti-nuclear
sentiment. During an initial test run in 1974, crews
detected a small radiation leak caused by faulty shielding. The incident made national headlines. But the media misreported the issue, claiming
that the ship was leaking radioactive material. The public was so outraged, a flotilla of
fishing boats blocked Mutsu from returning to its home port for nearly two months. Up against enormous public opposition, the
Mutsu never stood a chance, and an embarrassed Japanese government abandoned their plans
for further nuclear ships. A fourth, nuclear cargo ship built by the
Soviet Union in the 1980s also met opposition. In the shadow of the Chernobyl disaster, public
protests led to the ship being barred from entering major ports in the Soviet Far East
and harbor workers, fearing radiation exposure, refused to unload cargo from the ship. Nuclear energy never stopped being a divisive
issue.But civilian nuclear ships would also have to contend with other headwinds. Although they promised to be cheaper to operate,
they were more expensive to build. There was also a lack of supporting infrastructure
and unanswered questions about liability if something were to go wrong. While a technical success, Savannah’s design
meant it could never be profitable, and lasted just 5 years in commercial operation. In 1971, the reactor was defueled and made
inoperable. Otto Hahn carried cargo for 9 years, but it’s
reactor was eventually removed and replaced with a conventional diesel engine. Mutsu never carried cargo, and after having
traveled just 82 thousand kilometres, its reactor was also swapped for a diesel engine. Along with a handful of nuclear icebreakers,
Russia still occasionally operates the only remaining nuclear cargo ship, mostly carrying
military cargo in the far north of the country. Today, more than 90,000 thousand merchant
ships operate on the world’s oceans and the majority burn low grade bunker oil. The most polluting oil available. One large cargo ship can put out as much hazardous
sulfur dioxide as fifty million cars. And while the public remains focused on the
potential dangers of nuclear power, shipping related emissions have led to four hundred
thousand premature deaths each year from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease If just a dozen large cargo ships were powered
by nuclear reactors, the reduction in global emissions would be considerable. And they would join the hundreds of nuclear-powered
vessels that have been operated safely by the U.S military over the past 50 years. Today’s nuclear technology is safer and
more economical than it was sixty years ago when Savannah first set sail. But the development of nuclear powered civilian
ships remains frozen in time. Because the biggest obstacles still remain,
especially public perception. My own perceptions changed after listening
to Atomic Awakening on Audible. A fascinating dive into the history of nuclear
energy from early naïve optimism, to fear and skepticism. Mahaffey turns a complex subject into something
that is easy to understand and highly entertaining. And he makes a pretty compelling argument
about how a second atomic age is on its way. As fossil fuels become too expensive and the
climate crisis becomes increasingly dire. Atomic Awakening is just one of many thousands
of Audible titles you can enjoy with an Audible membership, covering everything from fiction
and history to science and engineering. These days, it's hard to find the time to
sit and read through an entire book. Instead, with Audible I can listen while commuting,
exercising or doing work around the house. With Audible, I actually look forward to mundane
activities so I learn and be entertained. As an audible member, you get one credit every
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to 500-500.
