Nuclear powered civilian ships are not going to be generally viable in our lifetimes due to real safety and security concerns that go beyond mere politics. Operating a nuclear reactor requires more, and more highly trained, crew members. Plus you need constant armed security on par with what land-based nuclear power plants have. Those additional costs outweigh any possible savings on fuel. Russia operates only a few of them on limited service in areas where security isn&#x27;t a major concern, and they don&#x27;t really try to make a profit.<p>The long-term future of merchant shipping will probably be larger, more efficient ships running on liquid fuels (biofuels or direct chemical synthesis), plus automated auxiliary sails.