Nuclear-Powered 15K TEU Containership Receives ABS AIP

July 22, 2026

L to R): Patrick Ryan, ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer; Keyyong Hong, KRISO President; and Jinyoung Cho, KAERI Senior Vice President, Advanced Nuclear Reactor Lab. © ABS

ABS has awarded approval in principle (AIP) for a concept design for a nuclear-powered 15,000 TEU containership developed in collaboration with the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).

Equipped with a small modular reactor (SMR), the concept is part of an ongoing joint development project with ABS, KRISO and KAERI to evaluate the technical feasibility of nuclear-powered commercial shipping. The vessel concept features a marine molten salt reactor (MSR) and forms part of a broader multi-year collaboration focused on identifying technical challenges, advancing concept development and supporting the application of class and safety requirements to next-generation nuclear vessel designs.

Under the joint development framework, KRISO carried out the concept design for the 15,000 TEU nuclear-powered container ship, KAERI developed the concept design for the MSR, and ABS completed the AIP review of the overall concept.