Posted on 08/16/2006 7:39:31 AM PDT by GATOR NAVY
By many measures, the ship was a success. She performed well at sea, her safety record was impressive, her fuel economy was unsurpassed, and her gleaming white paint was never smudged by exhaust smoke. Even her cargo handling equipment was designed to look good. From 1965 to 1971, the Maritime Administration leased Savannah to American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines in the revenue cargo service.
However, Savannah's cargo space was limited to 8,500 tons of freight in 652,000 cubic feet (18,000 m³). Many of her competitors could accommodate several times as much cargo. Her streamlined hull made loading the forward holds laborious, which became a significant disadvantage as ports became more and more automated. Her crew was a third larger than comparable oil-fired ships. Her operating budget included the maintenance of a separate shore organization for negotiating her port visits and a personalized shipyard facility for completing any needed repairs. The on-board crew received special training after completing all training requirements for conventional maritime licenses.
No ship with these disadvantages could hope to be commercially successful. Her passenger space was wasted while her cargo capacity was insufficient. As a result of her design handicaps, Savannah cost approximately US$2 million more per year in operating subsidies than a similarly sized Mariner-class ship with a conventional oil-fired steam plant. The Maritime Administration decommissioned her in 1972 to save costs, a decision that made sense when fuel oil cost US$20 per ton. In 1974, however, when fuel oil cost $80 per ton following an energy crisis, Savannah's operating costs would have been no greater than a conventional cargo ship. (Maintenance and eventual disposal are other issues, of course.)
Yes.
Instead, nuclear power was abandoned and ship design shortly thereafter was changed to accomodate containerized cargo. Still, it's a shame they're not going to repower the ship with a conventional boiler.
You have to go back up and reread the article
I seem to recall reading that it used cobalt hardened valves in the primary coolant loop. The cobalt leached out of the valves, was activated to Co60 in the core, and then was deposited outside of the core shielding. May have confused that with some other reactor with that problem though.
Still, What's a cargo wench?
Looks like you may well need a winch to hold up that wench's hooters.
A wench-winch.
You're quite right about RKABA but only half-right about Co60. The coolant isolation valves probably did use an alloy with Co. It doesn't 'leach', but escapes as macroscopic wear products large enough to be filtered.
Savannah's problems were entirely economic and political - not radiological. With sufficient funds, there are no RadCon problems.
Wow - what a brilliant statement, "with sufficient funds." There isn't ever a problem with anything if you can throw enough money at it. A genius like you should run for public office. Yours is the level of insight that most Kongressmen have.
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