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This Nuclear-Powered Superyacht Is Longer Than the Titanic and Costs $700 Million

A nuclear-powered gigayacht longer than the Titanic, with 22 state-of-the art laboratories and a 13-story “science sphere,” might sound like the floating headquarters of a criminal mastermind. But Earth 300 is actually a revolutionary exploration vessel designed to investigate climate change and other challenges that face our planet. Designed by naval architect Iván Salas Jefferson, founder of Iddes Yachts, the 300-meter vessel has a radically aerodynamic look. It’s been envisioned as an “extreme technology platform,” incorporating robotics, AI, and quantum computing to attract the best and brightest minds from a wealth of fields. A Davos on water, if you will.

Such a bold vision doesn’t come cheap—right now the price tag for the ship, being constructed by Polish naval architecture firm NED, hovers between $500 and $700 million. Designed to resemble Earth, the orb’s “science city” will house top climate scientists, who will use the ship’s state-of-the-art tech to develop innovative solutions.

The vessel is designed to house top climate scientists.

“We wanted to create a design that would inspire,” Salas Jefferson said in a statement. “When one looks at the sphere, we want them to be inspired to protect Earth. When one walks into the sphere, now housing the science city, and feels the action of all the ongoing scientific works, we want them to be inspired to become an alchemist of global solutions.”

Measuring 150 feet at its widest—almost the length of a football field—the sleek ship includes an extraordinary observation deck on the bow, a foredeck helipad to transport passengers to and from the vessel, and a selection of advanced underwater expedition vehicles for deep-sea exploration.

“The ship will introduce features found on cruise, expedition, research, and luxury yachts, but she will be none of them,” said Aaron Olivera, Earth 300 ’s chief executive. “We wanted to build the Olympic torch of global science, to expand our knowledge and understanding of the universe, both above and below the ocean’s surface.”

The orb is the most striking design element of the yacht.

The project’s list of backers is impressive and includes IBM, Triton Submarines, EYOS Expeditions, and RINA, an international leader in maritime safety. TerraPower, the nuclear innovation company founded by Bill Gates, devised the technology for the onboard molten-salt reactor, which will provide zero-emissions energy.

Expected to launch in 2025, Earth 300 will have room for a complement of 160 scientists from a variety of disciplines, as well as 165 crew members and dozens of experts-in-residences and student researchers.

There will also be spots for 40 VIP guests, who will pay $3 million each for the privilege. That’s more than 10 times the cost of a seat on Virgin Galactic. With so many looking spaceward, why develop a cutting-edge seafaring vessel?

“The oceans are dying,” Salas Jefferson told Architectural Digest . “Having been born in Palma de Mallorca, I’ve seen it firsthand in the Mediterranean. Now is the time to reboot, reconnect, and redirect our planet’s destiny. Our oceans keep us—and our planet—alive, and Earth 300 ’s mission is to protect our oceans and ensure their health for generations to come.” Space may be the future, Salas Jefferson says, but “today, Earth is our only home.”

By HFW 12 Jul 2024

Nuclear-powered yachts: a viable option towards achieving net-zero emissions?

Imagine a very large yacht capable of cruising the world non-stop without refuelling or requiring an expensive chase boat. could this become a reality.

In light of the growing adoption of sustainable technology in yachting, including Feadship’s recently launched 60-metre Project 713, which will harness solar energy and can also run on non-fossil hydrogenated vegetable oil, and Project 821, the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell superyacht, the industry is clearly moving towards greener alternatives.

In this article, Tom Walters, Partner at law firm HFW , takes a look at what may be the next frontier in yacht propulsion: nuclear power.

Nuclear is not new technology

In 1953, US President Eisenhower announced the “Atoms for Peace” nuclear programme, and the following decades saw the development and operation of several global experimental nuclear merchant vessels, including the American NS Savannah, German Otto Hahn and Japanese Mutsu.

Beyond these examples, larger scale production of civilian nuclear vessels failed to emerge. However, the push for the yachting industry to decarbonise and forge a path toward net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, along with the potential technical efficiencies and onboard space savings promised by nuclear propulsion, has given the subject a new lease of life.

Emerging nuclear developments

UK Government climate change proposals recognise nuclear propulsion as a means of reducing maritime GHG emissions and are encouraging its development and adoption. The UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recently launched £20 billion and £157 million funding grants for the design and build of a Small Modular Reactor along with other nuclear technology projects, including those engaged in “advanced nuclear business development”.

Outside the UK, classification society American Bureau of Shipping and Herbert Engineering Corp. published a joint study into advanced nuclear reactors onboard commercial ships 1 . The study concluded that two Lead-Cooled Fast Reactors could power a ship for its entire 25-year lifespan while simultaneously delivering increased carrying capacity and operational speed.

The development of Molten Salt Reactors, where nuclear fuel (Thorium) is suspended in coolant (molten liquid salt) may bring greater operating efficiencies at higher temperatures, yet with reduced risk of over-pressurisation, smaller waste streams and the ability to refuel without shutting down reactors. A number of concepts are being developed in this field, including Ulstein Thor 2 .

Financial viability

Disproportionate running costs contributed to the decommissioning of earlier nuclear vessels, and remain a concern today, as do the large upfront investment costs. However, new approaches, including the standardisation of reactors and leasing rather than purchasing them could reduce costs. Further, their operation might be simplified and adoption encouraged by manufacturers retaining responsibility for the in-life maintenance, repair and replacement of reactors via ‘plug and play/pay’ arrangements. Such an approach should ensure the highest standards are maintained and allow the relevant authorities to maintain oversight of reactors in service. When repairs or fuel changes are required, licenced shipyards could remove ‘old’ reactors and plug in ‘new’ reactors. High upfront reactor leasing costs (compared to alternative fuels) are offset by significantly reduced running and refuelling costs.

 “Theoretically, there is no reason why yachts built to the same regulations could not operate and be classed in a manner similar to commercial vessels.”

Nuclear power plant operators are strictly liable for nuclear damage and many countries require compulsory third-party liability insurance. Damage caused by nuclear fuel, nuclear waste or combustion of nuclear fuel is excluded from most marine insurance policies, including P&I cover. Consequently, it is currently effectively impossible to insure civilian nuclear vessels on commercial terms. However, several insurers in the London market are alive to the issue and are considering the position, with the potential for appropriate cover growing.

Regulatory challenges

Chapter VIII of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 3 and the Safety Code for Nuclear Ships (res. A.491.XII) (Nuclear Code) 4 specify nuclear vessel design, operation, safety and decommissioning criteria. In the UK, these are supplemented and transposed by national legislation in the form of the Merchant Shipping (Nuclear Ships) Regulations 5 (the UK Nuclear Ships Regulations) and MGN 679(M) Nuclear Ships 6  (the MGN).

Theoretically, there is no reason why yachts built to the same regulations could not operate and be classed in a manner similar to commercial vessels. Under UK law, a nuclear-powered yacht must comply with the following requirements:

• MCA approved safety assessment prior to construction, ensuring no unreasonable radiation or other hazards (regulation 7 of Merchant Shipping Regulations).

• A Quality Assurance Program covering the yacht’s lifecycle from design to decommissioning (MCA approval precondition) (regulation 28 of Merchant Shipping Regulations).

• Detailed operating manual carried onboard, including all operational information required for normal operating and emergency conditions (regulation 14 of Merchant Shipping Regulations).

• Compliance with the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019 when the yacht is moored and undertaking ionising radiation work (section 7.3 MGN).

• A non UK-flagged nuclear yacht intending to call at a UK port must provide a safety assessment 12 months before arrival in UK waters (regulation 13(5) of Merchant Shipping Regulations).

• Non-compliance with the UK Nuclear Ships Regulations constitutes a criminal offence punishable by fines or possible imprisonment (regulation 31 of Merchant Shipping Regulations).

Whilst it might be possible to build a nuclear yacht in accordance with the regulations, there remain obstacles to the adoption of the technology.

The Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 7 explicitly excludes nuclear ships from its scope (article 3) and it is therefore important to note that an owner of a nuclear yacht could face unlimited liability in the event of an incident.

Furthermore, the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage 1963 8 applies strict and exclusive liability for operators of nuclear installations. The handling and disposal of nuclear waste, as well as the export of nuclear materials, is also strictly regulated.

Finally, port states and flag states will need to implement regulations for nuclear vessels. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 9 explicitly requires nuclear-powered ships and ships carrying nuclear substances to “carry documents and observe special precautionary measures” when passing through territorial seas of port states (UNCLOS article 23).

As with all new technology, legislation often lags behind. If Molten Salt Reactors become commonplace, regulatory requirements may develop further to accommodate nuclear yachts.

Practical requirements and safety concerns

In addition, the perception of nuclear technology remains to be tackled. A generally negative public perception of the technology, which is likely shared by many would-be yacht owners and charter guests, will prevail until ‘new’ Small Modular Reactors for use on vessels are sufficiently advanced and can be distinguished from earlier commercial reactors and associated risks.

Safety will be paramount. Specially trained crew and engineers will be required. Crew training requirements specified in the UK Nuclear Ships Regulations include basic principles of nuclear energy, structure and performance of nuclear ships, basic principles of radiation hazards and radiological protection, and emergency actions.

Safe salvage, repair and decommissioning of nuclear vessels will necessitate specialist knowledge and equipment compliant with the Nuclear Code, requiring consideration at the design stage.

The international community foresaw and adopted regulations for nuclear vessels decades ago, and the recent UK Nuclear Ships Regulations have brought those regulations into the 21st century. The legal framework therefore already exists for the construction and operation of nuclear merchant vessels, and small regulatory amends could allow Small Modular Reactors to be fitted to yachts. The extra space created by a smaller powerplant and the absence of fuel tanks opens up significant opportunities for yacht designers.

Nuclear propulsion and its use onboard yachts will face challenges, primarily around safety and perception, yet the technology makes it a credible contender for future adoption by those owners seeking to reduce both carbon footprint and operating expenditure.

Disclaimer: Whilst every care has been taken by HFW to ensure the accuracy of this information at the time of publication, the information is intended as guidance only. It should not be considered as legal advice.

Tom Walters, Partner, HFW Email: [email protected] Profile link: https://hfwyachts.com/#ourexperts

References :

1: https://news.cision.com/american-bureau-of-shipping/r/groundbreaking-abs-study-explores-potential-of-commercial-nuclear-propulsion,c3810211

2: https://ulstein.com/news/thorium-powered-ulstein-thor

3: https://library.arcticportal.org/1696/1/SOLAS_consolidated_edition2004.pdf

4: https://www.cdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.491(12).pdf

5: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/1169/contents/made

6: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-679-nuclear-ships/mgn-679-m-nuclear-ships

7: https://portal.royalbureau.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ConventiononLimitationofLiabilityforMaritimeClaimsLLMCconsolidated_1976_llmc_prot_1996.pdf

8: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/infcirc500.pdf

9: https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf

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And will fail. I saw old footage NS Savannah having it's fuel installed. There sheer quantity plastic/paper gowns, surgical cleanliness.

• Because some nations have reservations and laws in place to keep nuclear vessels out of their waters, military or otherwise.

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The nuclear megayacht designed to save the world

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Nuclear powered?

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This Nuclear-Powered Superyacht Is Longer Than the Titanic and Costs $700 Million

Designed to attract the best and brightest minds in exploring and combating climate change, the vessel plans to be a “science city” on the water

By dan avery, june 15, 2021.

A nuclear-powered gigayacht longer than the Titanic, with 22 state-of-the art laboratories and a 13-story “science sphere,” might sound like the floating headquarters of a criminal mastermind. But Earth 300 is actually a revolutionary exploration vessel designed to investigate climate change and other challenges that face our planet. Designed by naval architect Iván Salas Jefferson , founder of Iddes Yachts, the 300-meter vessel has a radically aerodynamic look. It’s been envisioned as an “extreme technology platform,” incorporating robotics, AI, and quantum computing to attract the best and brightest minds from a wealth of fields. A Davos on water, if you will.

Such a bold vision doesn’t come cheap—right now the price tag for the ship, being constructed by Polish naval architecture firm NED, hovers between $500 and $700 million. Designed to resemble Earth, the orb’s “science city” will house top climate scientists, who will use the ship’s state-of-the-art tech to develop innovative solutions.

“We wanted to create a design that would inspire,” Salas Jefferson said in a statement. “When one looks at the sphere, we want them to be inspired to protect Earth. When one walks into the sphere, now housing the science city, and feels the action of all the ongoing scientific works, we want them to be inspired to become an alchemist of global solutions.”

Measuring 150 feet at its widest—almost the length of a football field—the sleek ship includes an extraordinary observation deck on the bow, a foredeck helipad to transport passengers to and from the vessel, and a selection of advanced underwater expedition vehicles for deep-sea exploration.

“The ship will introduce features found on cruise, expedition, research, and luxury yachts , but she will be none of them,” said Aaron Olivera , Earth 300 ’s chief executive. “We wanted to build the Olympic torch of global science, to expand our knowledge and understanding of the universe, both above and below the ocean’s surface.”

The project’s list of backers is impressive and includes IBM, Triton Submarines, EYOS Expeditions, and RINA, an international leader in maritime safety. TerraPower, the nuclear innovation company founded by Bill Gates, devised the technology for the onboard molten-salt reactor, which will provide zero-emissions energy.

Expected to launch in 2025, Earth 300 will have room for a complement of 160 scientists from a variety of disciplines, as well as 165 crew members and dozens of experts-in-residences and student researchers.

There will also be spots for 40 VIP guests, who will pay $3 million each for the privilege. That’s more than 10 times the cost of a seat on Virgin Galactic. With so many looking spaceward, why develop a cutting-edge seafaring vessel?

“The oceans are dying,” Salas Jefferson told Architectural Digest . “Having been born in Palma de Mallorca, I’ve seen it firsthand in the Mediterranean. Now is the time to reboot, reconnect, and redirect our planet’s destiny. Our oceans keep us—and our planet—alive, and Earth 300 ’s mission is to protect our oceans and ensure their health for generations to come.” Space may be the future, Salas Jefferson says, but “today, Earth is our only home.”

View on Architectural Digest

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This Nuclear Megayacht Was Designed to Save the World; Noah’s Ark Style

The super-wealthy tend to attempt masking their absurd spending as ways to help fuel the economy, further progress, or in this case, save the world. After watching Jeff Bezos spend billions to fly next to space, or Tesla push its unproven driverless tech after a year wrought with hardship, violence, and death, many had their illusions of billionaires shattered. But is this new nuclear megayacht going to be more of the same or a modern-day Noah’s Ark? It’s hard to say “ark” and “yacht” in the same sentence.

Can a nuclear megayacht save the world? 

According to CNN , Indiana University anthropologists calculated that a superyacht with a permanent crew, a helicopter pad, submarines, and pools emit over 7,000 tons of CO2 a year. Since most billionaires MADE money throughout the pandemic, boat sales have skyrocketed . Much like the camper van boom , the super-rich have taken to the open seas to socially distance themselves. There are now 300 superyachts roaming our seas. 

Since we know these customers won’t be denied their comforts for a little global climate change, a new type of ship promises to give them their luxury while still keeping dry ground safe for the rest of us. 

Aaron Olivera, the Gibraltar-born, Singapore-based entrepreneur behind the idea, looked at this data and asked, “Why not take the wealthiest people in the world, pull them together with the smartest and brightest scientists, and allow them to experience firsthand what’s taking place?” “Wealthy people can go online and buy anything they want, but they cannot buy a new mental model with which to see the world.”

Meet the Earth 300

The proposed megayacht gets its name from its immense length, 300 meters. For Americans, that is essentially a boat the size of a football field. The design is wonderfully futuristic. The massive 13-story orb that might catch your eye first is home to two dozen mobile labs that will house scientists to gather data aimed at helping to figure out the climate crisis. 

This massive nuclear-powered megayacht will also be hope to a quantum computer, a new type of computer that employs the properties of quantum mechanics to achieve incredible speed and power. 

To be clear, much of the Earth 300 isn’t really possible just yet. Like most plots to save the world, the proper technology has yet to reach us. However, IBM and Google are researching the subject as you read this. 

The proposed crew for the Earth 300 is massive. Most of the ship’s capacity of 425 people will be taken up by two main groups: 165 crew and 160 scientists. The crew will also be joined by a group of 20 students and 20 resident experts. Olivia calls this group of residents a “multidisciplinary melting pot” of economists, explorers, engineers, artists, activists, and even politicians. Along with all the professionals and actual people of interest and value, the ship will also sell 20 tickets to wealthy tourists who want to join the mission to save the world to lounge around and take selfies. These tickets will cost the wealthy patrons $1 million each. 

Exclusivity be damned

“This ship will be a floating computer which will allow people from all around the world to participate in the journey. That means that these wealthy individuals who are coming on board will have to share the experience with the world, not just among themselves,” says Olivera.

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Scientists, students wanted to live aboard a crazy, nuclear-powered yacht

Earth 300 could be the best way to get your feet wet practicing cutting-edge science.

• Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

An artist's rendering of Earth 300. 

Life aboard a research vessel often isn't the most luxurious experience, but a new initiative called Earth 300 aims to change that by building high-tech science facilities atop a 968-foot (295-meter), nuclear-powered mega-yacht.

It's basically a sustainable science cruise ship where certain super smarties might one day work and live for free.

Earth 300 founder and CEO Aaron Olivera says the project was inspired when he saw corals killed by ocean acidification while working on a project in the Maldives. He describes later looking out at the Mediterranean Sea and dreaming up the concept.

"I started thinking, how great would it be if we could inspire a global renaissance and bring together the smartest and the latest and greatest architects and artists and inventors and scientists of the day," Olivera said during an Earth 300 launch event shown in the video below.

Olivera was previously president of Royal Falcon Yachts, where he helped finance a mega-yacht project designed by Porsche. Now he hopes the yacht of his dreams could provide the perfect venue for his vision. The plan is to invite a diverse group of experts, researchers and regular citizens aboard to do work that advances the cause of global sustainability.

Earth 300 is designed to support more than 400 people living aboard, making it more like a cruise ship than a yacht. Olivera envisions over 160 scientists and students living and performing research on the ship for free.

Alongside scientists working in disciplines that include marine, earth, space, climate and atmospheric sciences, Olivera hopes to add "experts such as entrepreneurs, economists, engineers, artists, filmmakers and journalists" to the mix, creating a truly interdisciplinary floating research institution.

Scientific facilities aboard will include 22 labs equipped for everything from robotics to weather visualization to 3D printing.

Olivera worked with a designer to create a vessel that could be immediately recognizable in the hope it will become an international symbol of sustainability that helps draw more attention to the cause.

The design includes 20 VIP suites, half of which will be reserved for inspiring or unsung people who will cruise for free, and the other half will be leased out to wealthy tourists. Bloomberg reports the suites will be available for $3 million (£ 2.2 million, AU$3.9 million) for a ten day cruise, helping to fund the whole venture.

Olivera promised that research done aboard Earth 300 will be open source and available in real time for collaboration around the globe.

In keeping with the sustainability theme, the plan is for the vessel to be emissions-free and powered by an advanced type of small nuclear reactor that's under development by Terrapower, a company founded by Bill Gates.

But all this is pretty far off. Right now all we have is some artist's renderings and a vague plan. Olivera hopes to raise financing for the project in preparation for a maiden voyage currently scheduled for 2025.

No word yet on how to put your name in for consideration for that first voyage. Stay tuned, sailors.

Step inside the world's only nuclear-powered passenger ship — built in 1959

Deep inside the Port of Baltimore, past stacks of shipping containers and a plant that makes wallboard, sits the world's first, and only, nuclear-powered cruise ship – the NS Savannah.

The Savannah is the only nuclear-powered merchant ship the U.S. ever built, and the only nuclear vessel in the world designed with passengers in mind. As NPR's chief correspondent for all things atomic, I've wanted to see her for years.

So when the opportunity came up to take a tour recently, I climbed aboard.

Savannah's origin story began in the darkest days of the Cold War. In December of 1953, the very future of the world seemed to be in question. The Soviet Union had just detonated its first thermonuclear weapon. A year before, the United States had tested its own ten-megaton device on a remote Pacific island. The blast was so powerful, it wiped the island from the face of the Earth.

In a speech before the United Nations, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower acknowledged the peril facing the world, but he refused to accept that the atom's only purpose was to vaporize mankind.

"The United States knows that peaceful power from atomic energy is no dream of the future," Eisenhower told the assembled diplomats. "The capability, already proved, is here today."

By the end of the decade, the U.S. Government had built the Savannah as part of a program known as "Atoms for Peace," which sought to demonstrate the good that nuclear energy could do.

The ship was launched in 1959, and its 74-megawatt nuclear reactor was powered up in 1961.

"Anybody could buy a ticket," says Erhard Koehler, the Senior Technical Advisor for the Savannah at the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration, which owns the ship.

The ship was more of a proof-of-concept than an actual cruise ship. It could carry just 60 passengers, and it also had cargo holds for transporting goods.

Still, Koehler says, the ship was popular. "It was fully booked throughout its history." That history was brief – Savannah only carried passengers from 1962 to 1965.

Koehler says the decision to stop carrying passengers wasn't about safety. It was economic.

"If you stopped carrying passengers, you could reduce the number of stewards and reduce the cost of the program," he says.

The ship did see plenty of other visitors. Over its history, Savannah traveled to some 45 foreign ports in 26 countries. It's estimated that well over a million people boarded the ship to see its nuclear reactor at work. To facilitate the visitors, the Savannah sported an unusually large galley. "When it was in port, they would serve 500-700 people in a meal," Koehler says.

While the Savannah's nuclear reactor was revolutionary, the rest of the ship was actually unremarkable for the time it was built. "It wasn't very state-of-the-art," he says. "It's really a time capsule of what was the norm in the U.S. Merchant Marine in the 1950s and 60s."

Koehler takes me down to the reactor control room. It's located below, in the forward section of the ship.

It controlled a pressurized water reactor that used low-enriched uranium to produce heat. That heat was turned into steam that could run the ship's turbines, spinning the propeller and also producing electricity. The Savannah could cruise at 20 knots, which is similar to the speed of most cruise ships today.

We come down past the enormous turbines that once turned Savannah's propeller. The reactor control system is well lit. It's a small, one-of-a-kind system that allowed the ship's engineers to manage the reactor's power output as it plied the seas. Notably, the control room lacks any chairs: "By and large engineers in the 60s stood their watch; they didn't sit," Koehler says.

The operators could also command an emergency shut-down, or scram, of the reactor core. Scrams were rare aboard the Savannah, but one did take place in 1964, when the ship passed through a hurricane. A backup auxiliary motor run off of diesel power kept the ship going while engineers restarted the reactor.

Back in the ship's main lobby, Koehler shows me a small wooden cube. It represents the volume of uranium fuel needed to let the Savannah travel 454,000 nautical miles– enough to circumnavigate the world well over a dozen times. Traveling the same distance with conventional fuel would have required approximately 28 million gallons of it.

But despite its dazzling efficiency, Savannah was never economically viable. It required special fuel-handling facilities to load and unload its nuclear core. And decommissioning the ship has taken decades and cost far more than it could have ever made moving cargo or people.

In the early 1970s, the Savannah's reactor was shut down and de-fueled. By that time, the ship had done what it was supposed to do – demonstrate a peaceful use of nuclear energy. "The program was ended, rather than continue to spend money for no real net effect," he says.

The NS Savannah has never sailed again. In the 80s and 90s it was berthed at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in South Carolina, before being put into storage. Decommissioning of the ship's nuclear components began in 2017.

In November of last year, its reactor was removed and taken to Utah for disposal. Koehler says full decommissioning of the ship's nuclear components will take another two years or so. At that point the Maritime Administration can dispose of the Savannah, Koehler says, but he hopes it will be protected.

"Our objective is not to scrap the ship," he says. "Our objective is to see the ship preserved somehow."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Earth to CNN: No, a nuclear-powered superyacht won’t save the world

By Dawn Stover | September 28, 2021

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Who knew that a sexy nuclear superyacht could save us from climate catastrophe? That was the awesome news from CNN’s travel desk yesterday.

CNN wasn’t alone. Forbes , BBC Science Focus Magazine , and a host of other media outlets have previously hailed the world-rescuing potential of what CNN described as “an emissions-free megaship that will pit together climate scientists and the wealthy in a daring quest to save the planet.”

“Pit together” sounds like an apt description of a would-be merger between luxury tourism and climate action. You can put those two things together in a sentence, but in the real world they mix about as easily as oil and water.

And there’s another big problem with the plan for this overhyped 300-meter-long vessel and its global research: Earth 300 , as the $700 million superyacht is called, will be powered by a molten salt nuclear reactor that doesn’t exist yet and won’t be certified for at least five years. The company’s website illustrates the reactor with a scale model of an experiment done in the 1960s at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The website also says the scientists onboard Earth 300 will have the world’s first ocean-going quantum computer. But that, too, has yet to be built.

Meanwhile, the climate crisis needs immediate attention. “We really are out of time,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned this month.

While they wait for a modular nuclear reactor that might never come, the developers of Earth 300 say they will use green synthetic fuels. These are liquid fuels derived from coal or natural gas in a process that captures carbon. However, they are much more expensive than fossil fuels. Aaron Olivera, the entrepreneur behind Earth 300 , told CNN he plans to “eventually” retrofit the yacht with a reactor being developed by the UK company Core Power in collaboration with TerraPower, a US nuclear engineering firm chaired by Bill Gates.

Globally, there are at least 171 motorized megayachts that are 75 meters (246 feet) or more in length. Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, is rumored to be buying a superyacht so big that it will have a dock for its own “support yacht.” Eclipse , an even bigger superyacht owned by Russian-Israeli billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, has its own missile defense system. The largest yacht currently operating, Azzam , is 180 meters (590 feet) long and consumes 13 metric tons of fuel per hour at its top speed of 33 knots. That’s about 0.01 miles (or a little over 50 feet) per gallon.

Earth 300 would be much bigger.

And the customers Olivera would like to attract—the wealthiest people in the world—also tend to have the world’s largest carbon footprints, thanks in no small part to their habit of traveling aboard superyachts and private airplanes. According to calculations by two researchers at Indiana University , a superyacht with a permanent crew and helicopter pad is “by far the worst asset to own from an environmental standpoint.”

Earth 300 ’s luxury suites will each rent for $300,000 a day, which presumably will cover the personnel and expenses needed to operate the ship and its 22 scientific laboratories. But construction won’t begin until 2025 at the earliest, and any groundbreaking scientific discoveries or billionaire epiphanies that could help stabilize the climate are even further into the future.

Construction is already delayed on another 600-foot-long yacht that will combine climate research with charters for paying customers. Financed by Kjell Inge Røkke, a Norwegian billionaire who made his fortune in fishing and oil drilling, REV Ocean will investigate climate change and ocean acidification, plastic pollution, and overfishing, but the nonprofit project is at least three years behind schedule.

Who will be aboard these superyachts? CNN asked Olivera which famous people he’d like to host on his future ship, and he named Elon Musk, Michelle Obama, Greta Thunberg, Naomi Klein and Yvon Chouinard. Like the superyacht itself, some of those potential guests seem more aspirational than realistic.

Wealthiest 1% produce double the combined CO2 emissions of poorest 50%. "We have got to cut over-consumption and the best place to start is over-consumption among the polluting elites who contribute by far more than their share of carbon emissions." https://t.co/0bEwESnE9O — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) April 13, 2021

Greta Thunberg doesn’t take airplanes or motor yachts. Elon Musk doesn’t take vacations. And Bill Gates may be hurt that he’s not on the A-list.

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Keywords: CNN , Earth 300 , superyachts Topics: Climate Change , Columnists , Nuclear Energy , Nuclear Risk , Opinion

An absurd idea, the money much better spent on more prosaic but proven solutions like promoting regen Agriculture. If they start to ask for shares, we know it is something else … PS Don’t knock LFTRs.

think “Snowpiercer”!

(But rather than a train running on and on thru a frozen wasteland, we get yachts sailing on and on upon oceans of warmed-up water.)

I think the true purpose of such a super yacht is as a literal show boat for promoting the so-called ‘green’ liquid biofuel(s). For such a project to be taken seriously, its entire construction should not consume any drop, gram or Pascal of any carbon based fuel. The recycling, mining, smelting, casting, any materials processing, transportation of raw materials and components, then systems integration, final assembly and super yacht launching should be done with completely renewable energy sources. Initially the propulsion system should be powered with Perovskite Solar Cell based Photo-Voltaic panels and Icelandic design wind power generators with high …  Read more »

As a follow up to my previous comment (which I couldn’t add because my editing time window expired) was: One prominent type of salt under investigation (also potentially for use in LFTR) is FLiBe, which was the subject of a March 1999 research paper by Lockeed Martin sponsored researchers L. C. Cadwallader and G. R. Longhurst as a potential plasma facing coolant for Thermonuclear Fusion Reactors. This paper explores to a good level of detail, the Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety issues to be addressed when working with FLiBe salt. This is one area of investigation that may benefit …  Read more »

We have carbon free ships. They are powered by sail.

Dawn Stover

Dawn Stover is a contributing editor at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She began her career at Harper's magazine and worked... Read More

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The U.S. once built a nuclear ship ... for passengers

Geoff Brumfiel

Regina G. Barber

Berly McCoy

Rebecca Ramirez

The bridge of the NS Savannah , equipped with weather and communication instruments, would send orders to the reactor control room. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption

The bridge of the NS Savannah , equipped with weather and communication instruments, would send orders to the reactor control room.

In the Port of Baltimore, a ship is docked that hasn't transported passengers for more than 50 years. And although it stopped only after a few years, largely due to a lack of money, it was successful in part.

That's because the ship, the NS Savannah , was the first and only nuclear-powered passenger ship. And it was meant to show that nuclear power could be used for peaceful purposes. Science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a tour of the ship and talks to host Regina G. Barber about why it was built, how it worked and why it was the only one of its kind.

To see more pictures of Geoff's visit to the NS Savannah , including one from 1962 when the ship was operational, click this link .

Want to learn more about nuclear power? Email us at [email protected] .

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify , Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts .

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy with help from Geoff Brumfiel. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Geoff. Patrick Murray provided audio engineering support.

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• N.S. Savannah

Tickets for a nuclear-powered superyacht will cost $3 million for VIPs and be free to scientists and students selected to help study climate change

• The Earth 300 ship is designed to be emission-free and powered by nuclear energy.
• Aaron Olivera, the CEO of Earth 300, wants to bring the "brightest and smartest" scientists aboard.
• The ship is scheduled to set sail in 2025 with 160 scientists and 40 VIP guests.

You can hitch a 10-day ride on a nuclear-powered, emission-free yacht for the price of $3 million, or take the trip for free if you're a lucky student or scientist selected to be on board to help study the effects of climate change .

The yacht, called the Earth 300, will be a global icon for science, according to its website . The plan is for it to set sail in 2025 with 160 scientists on board from a variety of disciplines, 20 students, 165 staff, and 40 VIP guests who can each pay $3 million for their tickets. 

Aaron Olivera, the CEO of Earth 300, told Money FM he thought of the yacht and voyage in 2015, when he went scuba diving in the Maldives and saw dead coral that was killed by the overacidification in the ocean.

He then came up with the idea to bring the "brightest and smartest" scientists aboard a new-age ship to work together to come up with solutions to climate change .

The design of the ship, which will be powered by safe and sustainable atomic energy from a molten-salt reactor, has 22 "cutting-edge" laboratories that have artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, real-time data processing, and the latest quantum computer, according to the website.

"It's state-of-the-art science at sea," Olivera said on Money FM on April 9. 

Read more: Carnival and Royal Caribbean salaries revealed: From $32,000 to $383,000, here's how much the cruise industry's power players pay some of their employees

The vessel has a sleek look. It's 300 meters long, which is about three and one-third football fields, by 46 meters wide, translating to about 1 1/2 basketball courts, by 60 meters tall at its highest point, or about the height of an 18-story building.

"It's a vessel that's got the overall size of a cruise ship, but it's not a cruise ship. It's got the overall look of a superyacht, but it's not a superyacht," Olivera said on the radio show. "It's got the technology to rival an aircraft carrier, but it's not an aircraft carrier. It's going to have the endurance and the exploration skills of an explorer vessel, but it's not an explorer vessel. It's all of those put together in one package."

Before founding Earth 300, Olivera was the president of Falcon Royal Yachts, where he helped create two luxury megayachts designed by Porsche, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he worked at Corporate Grand, creating elite dining and entertainment experiences for the ultrawealthy.

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The CEO has "experiences in a myriad of industries, from training and development, to publishing, hospitality, retail and yachting," according to his bio on the Earth 300 website. 

When asked why he decided to create a ship to be the vessel for studying climate change, Olivera said, "The oceans are the beating heart of the planet. Without oceans , there cannot be any life."

But the proposal still has a ways to go.

Olivera has already funneled $5 million into the design, and European and South Korean shipyards are likely to carry out the construction, according to reporting from Entrepreneur . The news site said the total cost of the ship would be about $500 million to $700 million, with some funding coming from private investors.

"The idea was to design an object that would be able to capture everybody's imaginations on a global scale," Olivera said on Money FM, adding: "There's nothing like this."

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