You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser. Subscribe Get Daily Email Subscribe --> Contact Us Sign in Home News & Features Compliance Costs Bunker Prices Bunker Intelligence World News Latest Features World Americas EMEA Asia/Pacific Home News & Features World Project Pathfinder: Route to First US-Flagged Nuclear Commercial Ship Submitted to MARAD Project Pathfinder: Route to First US-Flagged Nuclear Commercial Ship Submitted to MARAD by Ship & Bunker News Team Friday August 7, 2026 Tweet Follow @shipandbunker CORE POWER backs seven-year accelerated timeline. Image Credit: CORE POWER CORE POWER submits 38 -page response to MARAD 's small modular reactor RFI "Project Pathfinder" would put a US-flagged nuclear-powered commercial ship into regular service Company backs seven -year accelerated route over ten -year governance-first alternative First vessel contract should include options for at least two more ships, firm says CORE POWER , a London-based developer of nuclear energy systems for maritime, has submitted its response to the US Maritime Administration 's ( MARAD ) request for information on deploying small modular reactors in the marine transportation system, proposing a programme it calls Project Pathfinder . The 38 -page submission , filed on August 5 , outlines what the company describes as a "time-limited federally supported and commercially led program to design, build and place into regular service a U.S.-flagged nuclear-powered commercial ship." MARAD's May RFI set out two possible timelines, and CORE POWER recommends the seven -year accelerated route over the ten -year governance-first alternative, provided governance and engineering advance in parallel. Speed should come from early decisions, a stable design, and pre-funded infrastructure, the company says, not from postponing questions of liability, emergency planning, fuel, workforce, or decommissioning. The response