The SS United States

[Niner]

The fastest of the trans Atlantic passenger ships. Made in the mid 50's when planes were knocking at the door to take over the trans Atlantic travel business entirely. It held the speed record for crossing that was never topped. Now it's in Mobile to have the last bit of biohazard material removed before becoming the worlds largest man made diving reef 20 miles out from the Florida coast and under something like 50 feet of water above the top structure. This photo was made by Susan Rouilier a great photographer and artist who happens to live on Mobile Bay.

[BOLOMK1]

Why couldn't we save her and the USS Savannah. Seems sad to lose them both.

[Niner]

The state of disrepair is so great it would cost somewhere between 400 million and a billion dollars to restore the ship to something like a tourist attraction. The cost would be hard to justify.

[Niner Delta]

BOLOMK1 asks .... "Why couldn't we save her and the USS Savannah. Seems sad to lose them both."

If you mean the NS Savannah, there is a group in Baltimore trying to restore it. Here is a link if you would like to
donate to the restoration.

https://www.ns-savannah.com/

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[Aughnanure]

Re the NS Savannah, like all but a couple of very dangerous. experimental shiips which actually were nuclear powered, she is a steam ship and is steam powered not nuclear powered, all that the reactor does is boil the water, more efficiently than other means.
The reactor cannot move the ship.

[Niner Delta]

Well yes, all current nuclear powered ships today are "nuclear powered, steam driven".
Although we say they are nuclear powered instead of steam powered because that's how the steam is created
to drive the ship's steam turbines. The turbines cannot move the ship without the reactor.
The only non military nuclear ships left today are the Russian ice breakers.

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[Aughnanure]

Yes, but, ships are never named after their fuel.
We don’t say ‘coal’ ships if coal is used to boil the water, nor wood or oil ships for the other common means of generating steam, just as coal, oil or wood cannot move a ship unless it is steam powered ,or has some other type of engine, a nuclear reactor cannot move the ship only sit until it runs out of fuel or blows up [then it would move more than the ship].

[DuncaninFrance]

I subscribe to a magazine called Ships Monthly shipsmonthly.com which includes news on newbuilds.

Power sources are the big thing for savings on fuel costs and reduced pollution.

Current power systems include;
Battery Electric
Hydrogen
Hybrid
Wind Sails
LNG

[Niner Delta]

"Yes, but, ships are never named after their fuel."

US Navy ships are.

CVN: Aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered.
CGN: Cruiser, guided missile, nuclear-powered.
SSAN: Submarine Auxiliary Nuclear, Auxiliary/Cargo Submarine, Nuclear-powered.
SSBN: Submarine Ballistic Nuclear, Ballistic Missile Submarine, Nuclear-powered.
SSGN: Guided Missile Submarine, Nuclear-powered.
SSN: Attack Submarine, Nuclear-powered.

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[Aughnanure]

That’s what happens when buzz words are used instead of logic, all of those ships are steam powered, the reactor merely boils the water.