The U.S. Maritime Administration and CORE POWER (US) Inc. have signed an agreement to investigate the pathways for nuclear-powered commercial shipping in the United States. The arrangement, reported by MarineLink Maritime News on 24 August 2026, sets out to accelerate commercial, industrial and regulatory workstreams for U.S.-flagged vessels fuelled by small modular reactor technology.
The agreement brings together the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration, known as MARAD, and CORE POWER (US) Inc. to explore how nuclear propulsion might be applied in the commercial merchant fleet. The memorandum seeks to identify and speed the steps needed for ships that would operate under the U.S. flag.
The partners will focus on three broad pathways: commercial, industrial and regulatory. The stated objective is to shorten and clarify those pathways so that operators, builders and regulators can assess whether and how SMR technologies might be deployed in merchant shipping.
Scope and aims
MARAD and CORE POWER are reported to have agreed to share effort on aspects that affect market entry and oversight. That includes consideration of the industrial base necessary to support nuclear-propelled commercial vessels and the commercial case for their operation under U.S. registry.
The regulatory strand is explicit in the report: the agreement seeks to accelerate the regulatory pathway for U.S.-flagged nuclear-powered commercial ships. That work would need to engage existing regulatory frameworks and identify where changes or clarifications are required for ships using reactor-based propulsion systems.
Technology focus
The initiative is fuelled by small modular reactor technology, commonly abbreviated to SMR. SMRs are a class of nuclear reactors designed to be smaller and, in many designs, more modular than traditional large reactors; the report identifies SMRs as the underpinning technology for the effort.
CORE POWER (US) Inc. and MARAD will therefore examine the industrial steps needed to translate SMR concepts into shipborne systems that meet maritime operational and safety requirements, while regulators consider how to adapt oversight to a maritime context.
The agreement does not, in the facts supplied, set out construction programmes, specific vessel designs, timelines or funding commitments. It frames the work as an exploratory effort intended to identify and accelerate what would be necessary for commercial adoption of nuclear propulsion in U.S.-flagged merchant shipping.
MarineLink Maritime News recorded the signing and the basic contours of the partnership on 24 August 2026. The report situates the memorandum as an early-stage collaboration between a federal maritime agency and a private company focused on SMR technology, aimed at assessing commercial, industrial and regulatory readiness.
Further details on the partnership's deliverables, milestones or the precise regulatory measures under review were not provided in the supplied notes. The announcement establishes the collaboration as a statement of intent to examine whether SMR-fuelled, U.S.-flagged nuclear commercial ships can move from concept towards commercial reality.