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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will hold a public meeting 8 May 2024 to discuss the license termination process for the historic Nuclear Ship Savannah, docked in Baltimore.
The meeting is scheduled for 6–7:30 p.m. Eastern time onboard the NS Savannah. Members of the public may participate in person, online via Microsoft Teams, or by phone. The ship is located at Pier 13, Canton Marine Terminal, at 4601 Newgate Ave. in Baltimore.
The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) submitted its license termination plan for the ship in October 2023. The NRC staff accepted the plan and a related license amendment request for formal review in December 2023. At the public meeting, the NRC staff will discuss the license termination process and receive public comments on remaining cleanup activities described in the license termination plan.
The plan addresses remaining remediation activities and final radiological surveys or scans to ensure that any residual radioactivity will be within allowable limits of NRC regulations. The NS Savannah's reactor was removed in 2022 and transported to a nuclear waste disposal facility.
The NS Savannah was removed from service in November 1970 and the fuel was removed from the ship in December 1971. As the first and only nuclear-powered commercial vessel, the ship is a registered National Historic Landmark. MARAD's intent is to decommission the NS Savannah in a manner that minimizes any physical impacts on the ship's structure. Unlike a land-based nuclear power plant, the NS Savannah is waterborne, mobile, and of historic significance, presenting unique aspects for decommissioning.
Written comments on the license termination plan may be submitted through the federal rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2024-0060, or by mail to Office of Administration, TWFN-7-A60M, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff. The deadline for filing comments is 3 June 2024.
More information about the decommissioning of the NS Savannah is available on the NRC website.