Greek owners to play key role in nuclear development for maritime sector

(Posted on 29/09/25)

“Nuclear energy is stepping forward as a credible long-term solution” stated Christopher Wiernicki, Chairman and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping, as some of the world’s leading shipowners and operators gathered at ARGO: New Nuclear for Greek Maritime in Athens.

At the Summit, over 120 high-level industry leaders welcomed the increasing pace of development to bring nuclear for maritime to both commercial shipping and floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs).

Opening the conference, Charlotte Vere, Group Head Market Development for CORE POWER, spoke of the importance of Greek shipping in shaping the future of the industry.

“For generations, Greek shipowners have led the industry at pivotal moments in the history of shipping, leveraging their collective expertise, innovation and resilience. Now we are at another inflection point, as the industry strives to deliver improved efficiencies in the face of carbon and other emission levies.”

“We are so pleased that the innovators in the Greek shipping industry are working with us and other leading industry players on pathways to deliver nuclear for maritime,” said Charlotte.

“Nuclear is no longer a speculative option, it is emerging as a commercially rational and operationally superior pathway for shipowners navigating an uncertain energy future.” explained Thomas Davies, Director of Analytics for CORE POWER.

“Nuclear has by far the highest capacity factor out of all electricity generation methods”, explained Ioannis Kourasis, Senior Nuclear Engineer at CORE POWER, as he went on to explain that “nuclear gives the reliability to be the workhorse of the grid.”

Concluding the day, Chris Leontopoulos of ABS Hellas; Dionysis Chionis from ATHLOS Energy; Afroditi Xydi of DEON Policy Institute and AspasiaPetri from the Greek Atomic Energy Commission discussed FNPPs and their application as a potential energy solution for Greece.

After the Summit, Afroditi commented: “I think it is very encouraging that this conversation is taking place in Greece, not only on the topic of nuclear, but also on the topic of floating power plants. As a leading maritime nation, Greece has the opportunity to leverage an emerging interest in nuclear to create the ships and power plants of the future.”

CORE POWER is working on a project alongside ABS Hellas and ATHLOSEnergy to explore the potential of deploying FNPPs in the Mediterranean Sea. The joint effort will assess how floating nuclear — powered by small modular reactors — can address growing energy demand in remote and coastal areas of the Mediterranean. This includes supplying grid-scale electricity to islands, supporting zero-emission port operations, and powering desalination plants to provide potable water in drought-affected regions.

Advanced nuclear technologies open new possibilities across the maritime sector—from powering large commercial vessels to supporting offshore platforms, port electrification, and energy access for remote coastal regions.

2025 is the year that nuclear for maritime goes mainstream.    

CORE POWER is the OECD’s leading developer of new nuclear technologies for commercial shipping and floating power plants.

Headquartered in the UK, with offices in the U.S. and Japan, CORE POWER has teams of specialists in nuclear engineering, marine engineering, safety, security, non-proliferation, and international and domestic standards.

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