French nuclear powered tanker project anno 1958

An item reported that at the Second Geneva Conference held in September France presented a nuclear propelled ship project. The Merchant Marine Department and the Atomic Energy Commission wanted to compare 3 UO2 and weakly enriched uranium reactor type and if these were suitable for the propulsion of a tanker. It were a pressurized water reactor (PWR) constructed by France-Atom-Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a boiling water reactor (BWR) constructed by France-Atom-Societe des Forges et Ateliers du Creusot and the third a gas reactor (Indatom) of which the constructor no was mentioned. The projected 40,000 tons tanker was to serve on the shipping route France-Persian Gulf via the Cape and Marseille. The performance was to be 18,000 (normal operating power)-20,000 (normal) maximum) hp on one shaft and an auxiliary power of 3,000 hp supplied by steam boilers. Although exact details were not available, the French government was interested enough to continu the project even considering to built a protype in the near future

Source

R. Gibrat. Nuclear naval propulsion: tankers, liners (Conditions of profitability). Translation of a paper presented at the Nuclear Energy Days Conference held at Milan, December 12-14, 1958. Original title Propulsion Naval Nucléaire: Petroliers, Paquebots (Conditions de rentabilité