NS Savannah
NS Savannah reaching the Golden Gate Bridge in 1962 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Owner | US Maritime Administration |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | Savannah |
| Ordered | 1955 |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, United States |
| Cost | $46,900,000 ($18,600,000 for the ship, and $28,300,000 for the nuclear plant and fuel) |
| Yard number | 529 |
| Launched | July 21, 1959 |
| Sponsored by | Mamie Eisenhower |
| Completed | December 1961 |
| Acquired | May 1, 1962 |
| Maiden voyage | August 20, 1962 |
| In service | 1964 |
| Out of service | January 10, 1972 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Nuclear-powered cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 13,599 gross register tons (GRT); 9,900 long tons deadweight (DWT) |
| Length | 596 ft (181.66 m) |
| Beam | 78 ft (23.77 m) |
| Installed power | One 74 MW Babcock & Wilcox nuclear reactor (LEU <= 4.6%) powering two De Laval steam turbines |
| Propulsion | 20,300 hp (15,100 kW) (designed) single shaft |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 300,000 nmi (560,000 km; 350,000 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) on one single load of 32 fuel elements |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 124 |
Savannah (nuclear ship) | |
| Nearest city | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°15′30.5″N 76°33′19.5″W / 39.258472°N 76.555417°W |
| Built | 1961 |
| Architect | George G. Sharp, Inc.; New York Ship Building Corporation |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001518 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 14, 1982 |
| Designated NHL | July 17, 1991 |
NS Savannah was the first nuclear-powered merchant ship. She was built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million (including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core) and launched on July 21, 1959. She was funded by United States government agencies. Savannah was a demonstration project for the potential use of nuclear energy. The ship was named after SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic ocean. She was in service between 1962 and 1972 as one of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built. (The Soviet ice-breaker Lenin, launched on December 5, 1957, was the first nuclear-powered civilian ship.)
Savannah was deactivated in 1971 and after several moves was moored at Pier 13 of the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland in 2008.