China has launched the world’s first container ship powered by a thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR), marking a potential milestone in nuclear maritime propulsion and low-emission shipping technologies.

The vessel, named KUN, features a nuclear propulsion system based on a thorium-fuelled molten salt reactor. The design reportedly mirrors the capabilities of the S6W reactors used in U.S. Navy submarines, but with notable advantages in safety, sustainability, and proliferation resistance.

Unlike traditional pressurised water reactors, the thorium molten salt reactor operates at low pressure, significantly reducing the risk of catastrophic meltdown. It uses thorium as a fuel, a material that is more abundant and considered safer than uranium. The TMSR system also produces minimal long-lived radioactive waste and is not suitable for weaponisation, which could ease international concerns over nuclear-powered commercial vessels.

Russia has also been investing heavily into developing its already world class nuclear technology. In September, President Vladimir Putin claimed Russia has made a nuclear technology breakthrough with the development of the first industrial-scale closed fuel cycle reactor, the BREST-OD-300, which would be a gamechanger if the claims are confirmed.

A closed fuel cycle reactor is a fuel management strategy, not a specific reactor type. Spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed and reused, rather than being treated as waste after one use, as in an open fuel cycle.

Among the applications is to build nuclear powered icebreakers to allow the transit of goods via the so-called Northern Route that transverses Russia’s northern boast and cuts journey times by a third. It also avoids the southern routes that are dominated by the US navy.

Russia has expanded use of the northern route that has become more passable thanks to global warming. This September China sent its first ships in the opposition direction and in October Beijing and Moscow signed a cooperation deal to further extend the trade route.

The new Chinese nuclear powered ship carries the slogan “Embracing Net-Zero Future” and forms part of China's broader push to decarbonise maritime logistics and secure leadership in next-generation nuclear technologies. The vessel’s low-emission propulsion is expected to help meet global shipping decarbonisation targets, which call for a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations.

The thorium-powered ship also has potential dual-use implications, as advances in compact, low-waste reactors could be adapted for both civilian and military applications. China’s investment in TMSR research, based in the Gobi Desert at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, has seen accelerated development over the past decade.

If proven viable, thorium reactors could reshape the global shipping industry, offering energy independence from fossil fuels and improved safety for nuclear-powered commercial fleets.

“This could be a genuine turning point for clean marine energy,” a Chinese nuclear engineer told South China Morning Post on November 10.