NS Savannah
NS Savannah passing under the Golden Gate Bridge in 1962
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| History | |
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 United States |
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| Owner: | US Maritime Administration |
| Operator: |
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| 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 |
| 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 powering two De Laval steam turbines |
| Propulsion: | 20,300 hp (15,100 kW) (designed) single shaft |
| Speed: |
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| 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: |
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| Crew: | 124 |
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Savannah (nuclear ship)
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| Nearest city | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°15′30.5″N 76°33′19.5″W / 39.258472°N 76.555417°WCoordinates: 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 # | 82001518 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 14, 1982 |
| Designated NHL | July 17, 1991 |
NS Savannah was the first nuclear-powered merchant ship. Built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million, including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core, funded by United States government agencies, Savannah was a demonstration project for the potential use of nuclear energy. Launched on July 21, 1959, and 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. (Soviet ice-breaker Lenin launched on December 5, 1957, was the first nuclear-powered civil ship.)
Savannah was deactivated in 1971 and after several moves has been moored at Pier 13 of the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, since 2008.
In 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower proposed building a nuclear-powered merchant ship as a showcase for his "Atoms for Peace" initiative. The next year, Congress authorized Savannah as a joint project of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the Department of Commerce.
She was designed by George G. Sharp, Incorporated, of New York City. Her keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey. Her nuclear reactor was manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox. She was christened by US First Lady Mamie Eisenhower at the ship's launching on July 21, 1959.
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Wikipedia