Why The World Was Afraid Of This Ship: The N.S. Savannah

Happy 2022! What topics would you like to see covered in the coming year? (edit.. it's 2022...Ooff)

Yes, if radioactive accidents occur, it has terrible consequences. But if we look at the many disastrous oil leaks in the world’s oceans in the past, the millions of deaths due to air pollution each year (plus the serious long-term environmental damage process of the global on-shore and off-shore oil industry in the first place), it’s definitely worth considering switching to nuclear power...

Fun fact: The first Captain of the "Otto Hahn" was Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, german U-Boat ace during WW2 and the direct inspiration for the U-Boat commander in the famous novel (and later movie) "Das Boot".

One other problem for Savannah was the fact that it came along when traditional cargo ships were being replaced with container ships that can carry more cargo.

Fun fact: The captain of the NS Otto Hahn was the former real-life captain of the WW2 submarine U-96, on which the novel and movie "Das Boot" are based.

I hate how nuclear power is always seen as dangerous even though it is next to green energy one of the most safe

I had no idea civilian nuclear vessels were ever made. And watching a Mustard video is a very pleasant way to learn anything. The finest channel on YouTube, by a large margin.

i served on a nuclear submarine in the US Navy and it was awesome. We wore "TLD's" to measure the amount of radiation we received while onboard, but we were often told that you get more radiation from the sun in one day than you do from three months underway. Either way, I am huge proponent of nuclear energy, especially with today's better understanding of better and safer operations.

As a child I watched this ship sail down the channel on its visit to my hometown, Savannah, GA. At 6:22 in your video it shows the NS Savannah in the Savannah River along with a motor yacht named "The Flying Lady". The grandfather of a childhood friend was the captain of that vessel at the time.

Fun fact, there are still technically two remaining nuclear "cruise" ships that you can pay to travel aboard. Russia's Yamal and 50 Let Pobedy are nuclear powered icebreakers that take paying passengers to the north pole.

It's so depressing to see all these things from the past where we almost took the correct turn into the good future, but people let their fears and a few mistakes ruin everything.

I love the people who were so concerned about a ship leaking radiation, that they camped out next to it for 2 months

At the time my dad, a WW II Navy veteran, was an electrical engineer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories specializing in air-filtration systems for nuclear reactors. He spent months away from our home in Kingston, TN, helping build the Savannah.

The fun thing about nuclear power is that it's so unsafe that you could have a Chernobyl-style (Gen I graphite pile reactor with no containment) disaster every single year, and you'd still have fewer deaths and pollution/contamination from that event than from fossil fuel usage while ignoring the deaths and damage from fly ash spills and other accidents. Heck, the pollutants from marine diesel are so bad, that people die near harbours every single year from COPD and other health issues. It's a major issue in e.g. NYC with the cruise ships that tend to leave their diesels idling while moored. Great example of how irrational fear ended up killing thousands more than would have if the world had gone nuclear last century.

As someone who has slept next to a nuclear reactor for years, its fine. Better than the sound of diesel engines running too

Fortunately, there are new, smaller reactor designs that are a lot safer to use and doesn't hog so much interior space on a ship. That could make it possible for container ships that could carry as much cargo as Maersk's largest container ships but with virtually no air pollution.

This is an excellent video, the 3D modelling and graphics are top notch. The use of archival materials matches the narrative extremely well. The research and presentation of issues is equally well done. That said, I have a few nits. I am the project manager for NS Savannah for the Maritime Administration, and represent the agency as the holder of the ship's NRC license. I also act as steward of the ship as a National Historic Landmark. That said, my comments are personal, and not on behalf of the US Department of Transportation or MARAD. First, please understand that Savannah was, and is to this day, a government-owned and funded project. The ship was operated by American Export Isbrandtsen Lines under contract from MARAD (same for its predecessor, States Marine Lines). To this day, every penny spent on Savannah was on the MARAD budget, and the ship was never subsidized (at 8:15). From 1965 - 1970, Savannah earned revenue that was equal to between 50 and 60% of its total budget, but that money was deposited to the US Treasury as receipts - much like income taxes. The MARAD budget, and therefore the direct cost of the program, was never offset by revenue from the ship. The program was ended in 1970 not because the ship was unprofitable (at 10:25), but because it had successfully demonstrated all of its objectives (and more), while there was tremendous pressure on the federal budget from activities such as the Apollo Program, Vietnam War and Great Society. Quite simply, federal dollars could be better spent elsewhere, when it was obvious that no new nuclear merchant ships would be built in the US. The comment on the practicality of the ship's design beginning at 7:50 is a common contemporary misunderstanding of ship design. Passenger-Cargo ships like Savannah were extremely common ship types well into the jet and container revolutions. Four similar ships were built in the US after Savannah, for Grace Lines. In conceiving the ship as primarily a demonstration of the Atoms for Peace concept, President Eisenhower directed that economics and efficiency not be considered in its design. He favored aesthetics, and the simple acts of carrying cargo and passengers safely as being the most important missions when related to Atoms for Peace. The hull is actually a derivative of the famous C4 Mariner class general cargo (breakbulk) ship. Savannah employs deep sheer and flare to create the beautiful appearance, but behind that is a pretty standard cargo ship whose holds are almost identical in size to the Mariner (they are not too small). The passenger space does not affect the holds, except for cargo hold 5. This was intended to be a "blind hold" served by sideports in the hull connected to elevators and mechanized conveyors for palletized cargo. Unfortunately, the funds appropriated to build the ship were insufficient to fit that equipment, so 5 hold ultimately was used for non-cargo purposes. Yes, cargo handling was inefficient because of the rake of the masts - but it was more inefficient because only half as much cargo gear was fitted than normal. This was because aesthetics were a more important design consideration than cargo handling. If you imagine Savannah with 5 more sets of cargo trusses (to give 4 booms at each hold, vice 2), would you think she is as attractive? Probably not. Finally, I really don't think its true that Savannah inspired other countries to build nuclear merchant ships (at 8:38). Yes, the 3 other ships (Otto Hahn, Mutsu and Sevmorput) came after Savannah, but all of the projects began in the heady days of atomic optimism in the mid-50s, and Sevmorput in particular was inspired by Soviet interests in their Arctic waters, and experience with their nuclear icebreakers. Projects in other nations did not advance, and that had little to nothing to do with Savannah. Ok, that's it for my nits - the length of the comment really doesn't reflect the very high quality of this video, which to me is perfect all the way through 7:50, and very good from there to the end. Thanks for the good work. And please watch for info coming in 2023 regarding Savannah's future.

I remember this ship , from a clear afternoon in the English Channel back in 1967 , literally walk (more like run ) past my steam turbine ship, trudging along at 15 knots . Was a cadet then , standing watch on the bridge . Even managed to get a snap on my Kodak box camera . Thanks for the detailed explanation .

The NS Savannah is still docked in the ports at Baltimore, and it's a public museum now. The fuel is removed, and the reactor decommissioning is slowly getting done, but it's a wonderful look into such a bright nuclear age. I've been, and I recommend it for anyone who's near and into this kind of thing.

I remember going to see Savannah with my parents when she visited Southampton in the UK. We went aboard and took a guided tour. She was impressive (especially to 11 year old me) and seemed so far ahead of any other ship we'd seen.