Two years ago, the design of the KUN-24AP cargo ship was unveiled by Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard as the first commercial cargo ship to use a thorium molten salt reactor (TSMR) nuclear power plant. Two years later, Jiangnan Shipyard has now said that the KUN-24AP reactor can generate 200MW of power, equivalent to the output of the nuclear reactor of the US Sewol class submarine.
If built, the KUN-24AP will be the world's largest nuclear-powered ship but also one of the world's largest cargo ships with a capacity starting at 14,000 TEU. Nuclear reactors are used because they do not require more dangerous uranium fuel. In case of an issue with the reactor, the ship has a backup diesel engine with a power of 10MW.
The second advantage is that the TSMR does not require a liquid cooling system to operate. China has proven the capability of the TSMR through a power station in the Gobi Desert since 2024, continuously complete with fuel swapping.
The first nuclear-powered cargo ship was the NS Savannah, launched in 1959. It only operated until 1972 due to high operating costs and the risk of pollution in the event of an accident.
