China has unveiled critical details of a revolutionary cargo ship under development: a nuclear-powered vessel that can carry 14,000 standard shipping containers.
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But what makes this ship truly groundbreaking is that it will be powered by a thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) with a thermal output of 200 megawatts – matching the power level of the S6W pressurised water reactor used in the US Navy’s most advanced Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarines.
Unlike traditional nuclear reactors that rely on uranium and require massive cooling systems and high-pressure containment, this new Chinese reactor uses thorium, a safer, more abundant and proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel.
And critically, the reactor does not need water for cooling, allowing it to be smaller, quieter and inherently safer than conventional designs.
If successfully deployed at scale, this technology could trigger a paradigm shift in commercial shipping.
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While the ship’s concept was first revealed in 2023, few technical details were available.