Nuclear Ship Savannah Renovation

PROJECT: The world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship anchored at Baltimore, MD since the 1970’s was undergoing a renovation which required cutting into the containment vessel to gain access to the reactor. The merchant vessel NS (Nuclear Ship) Savannah was proposed by President Eisenhower in 1955 as a showcase for his “Atoms for Peace” initiative.   The Savannah was an elegant combination passenger and merchant vessel which sailed around the globe from 1962 to 1971, visiting over 40 ports and hosting a million visitors. 

CHALLENGES: The space for cutting, lifting, and moving cut blocks was limited. The cut pieces could not exceed 5,000 lbs. and had to be maneuvered from the cut location into the ship’s cargo hold. As we cut and core drilled through multiple layers of steel and redwood, we encountered an unexpected void between walls into which cut blocks could potentially slip.