Educating Engineer Officers for Merchant Nuclear Powered Ships – a Literature Review

ABSTRACT: Ocean shipping must reduce air emissions and, at the same time, ensure logistical effectiveness. There is a growing interest in small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) as power source for merchant ships. Consequently, the maritime sector faces challenges in terms of regulations, education, and training for possible future merchant nuclear-powered ships (MNS). This study takes into examination the requisite qualifications, education and training for engineer officers on MNS. Since literature on this subject is scarce, an integrative literature review approach is adopted to assess the qualification requirements and recommendations proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as the US and UK naval nuclear propulsion programs. A conceptual framework is proposed for an educational path, combining the maritime industry’s organisation, bodies and structure with the European Nuclear Education Network certification of the European Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering. This framework aims to establish the basis for further projects concerning engineer officer competence, training and education. The research questions are: (1) What is a feasible educational framework for MNS engineer officers? (2) How should an educational framework for MNS engineer officers be structured and accomplished?

KEYWORDS: Maritime Education and Training (MET), Maritime Transport, Marine Engineering, Safety Management, Competences, Nuclear Propulsion, Human Factors, Regulations

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Citation note:

Morland E., Schøyen H., Emblemsvåg J.: Educating Engineer Officers for Merchant Nuclear Powered Ships – a Literature Review. TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 20, No. 1, doi:10.12716/1001.20.01.12, pp. 103-115, 2026

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