Page 5: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2026)

Back to the Drawing Board

HOW DOES THE PUBLIC REALLY FEEL

ABOUT SMALL MODULAR REACTORS?

By Rik van Hemmen n a spare few minutes I took a quick look at the U.S. ship with an SMR as its power source.

Center for Maritime Innovation Report: Small Mod- In a closer read of the report, I started to wonder why ular Reactor Technologies for Maritime Applications negative public perception and insurance are bigger con-

I of May 19, 2026. cerns than the glacial pace of nuclear ship construction.

As near as I can ? gure, it focuses on two major concerns What is that concern based on? The report actually ap- with regard to the use of SMRs in commercial ships: pears to rely on panel polls among the participants in the 1. Insurance obstacles and conference.

2. Possible adverse reactions by the public to There is no actual breakdown of the participant’s back- nuclear commercial ships. grounds, but it is interesting to note that those two primary

That is weird to me, since my major concern would be concerns are marginal concerns; concerns of the unknown.

that it is taking way too long to simply build a commercial As near as I could ? gure out there is no data that shows www.marinelink.com 5

MR #10 (1-17).indd 5 MR #10 (1-17).indd 5 10/2/2026 2:10:32 PM10/2/2026 2:10:32 PM