Q&A ยท 28:34-29:30

The impracticality of nuclear cargo submarines

The proposal supplies no convincing reason to accept the additional crew and infrastructure burden when surface shipping can already move the cargo.

Question

Could nuclear-powered cargo submarines make sense for trade between Canada and Europe?

Short answer

The proposal supplies no convincing reason to accept the additional crew and infrastructure burden when surface shipping can already move the cargo.

Notes

The proposal raises a basic commercial question: what would underwater transport accomplish that surface ships cannot? Cargo submarines would require crews and supporting infrastructure. Existing surface shipping already provides a workable means of moving the goods. Without a clear benefit that warrants the extra effort, the answer rejects the logistics case.