I HAVE TODAY directed the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Commerce to proceed as rapidly as possible with the design and construction of the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, in accordance with provisions of Public Law 848.
This is a project in which I long have had a deep interest. When I advanced the idea of a nuclear-powered merchant vessel in April of 1955, I stated that the ship "will demonstrate to people everywhere this peacetime use of atomic energy, harnessed for the improvement of human living."
We have had a nuclear-powered warship since the launching of the submarine "Nautilus" in January 1954. Merchant ship propulsion, however, is as yet unrealized--although it is one of the most promising applications of nuclear energy. Atomic merchant ships will be able to operate on longer runs at higher sustained speeds. They will be able to carry more cargo on long voyages than conventional ships because of the saving in fuel space. They will need less time in port, since they will operate for long periods without refueling.
This new vessel will be a floating laboratory, providing indispensable information for the further application of atomic energy in the field of ocean transportation. The reactor itself will be a definite step forward in nuclear propulsion. I am confident that the ship will be the forerunner of atomic merchant and passenger fleets which one day will unite the nations of the world in peaceful trade.
I should like to emphasize that the ship's reactor design will not be secret. The reactor will be built on an unclassified basis. It will be possible for engineers not only of our own country, but of other nations, to view the nuclear power plant and see at first hand this demonstration of the great promise of atomic energy for human betterment.
Attached to this statement is a letter from the Secretary of Commerce and the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission which contains a description of the ship.
The Atomic Energy Commission will furnish the reactor and be responsible for its installation. The Maritime Administration, Department of Commerce, will be responsible for the design and construction of the ship.
Note: The letter referred to by the President describes the ship as a combination passenger-cargo carrier tended for about 100 passengers and 12,000 cargo deadweight ton capacity, with a service speed of 21 knots. The reactor would be "a 20,000 horsepower pressurized water reactor of advanced design."
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Statement by the President Concerning the First Nuclear-Powered Merchant Ship. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/233414