Basic characteristics of a 400 feet 50 knots speed general cargo nuclear propelled submarine calculated around 1962

Speed 50 knots. Dimensions 400 (overall) x 80 (breadth of hull) x 40 (depth of hull) feet, 25,687 displacement total (T) in long tons of 2,240 pounds, 17,790  leightweight included lead ballast tons, none lead ballast tons, 3,398 liquid ballast tons, 190 free flooding water tons, 4,309 less liquid ballast deadweight tons, 4,309 less ballast deadweight tons, 4,040 deadweight cargo tons, 8,325 measurement tons of cargo c 40 square feet/ton, 333 bale cubic x 10cubic feet cubic, 7,100 gross tonnage, 2,680 net tonnage, Horsepower 184,000 shp. Crew 66. Deadweight-displacement ratio 0.157.

Voyage costs excluding stevedoring and agency fees

Sea costs -dollars per day x days 587,500

Port costs-dollars per day x days 348,800

Total cost per voyage 936,300

There were two possible routes between the east coast of the USA-Canada and Europe.

Polar route7,425 miles, Los Angeles -San Francisco- Seattle-Vancouver(BC)-Unimak Pass-Bering Straight -North Pole- North Sea-United Kingdom-France-Denmark-Germany and return.

Canal route 8,920 miles, Vancouver (BC)-Seattle-San Francisco-Los Angeles-Panama Canal-Southampton-United Kingdom-France-Denmark-Germany and return.

Details of vessel capital costs in thousands of dollars

Hull 6,330

Hull engineering 2,180

Outfitting 2,600

Machinery (1) 78,300

Inspections&owners outfit 1,790

Engineering (8%) 7,150

Lead 0

Total 98,350

(1) “Although reactor costs per shaft horsepower declines in the larger sizes, this is largely offset by rising costs of propulsion machinery, reduction gears, etc.”

 Manning requirement

Deck 22

Engineering 29

Stewards 15

Total 66

Source

M. Guralnick a.o. “Potential applications of nuclear energy in unusual ocean cargo carriers” in: E.E. Duckstad. Potential applications of nuclear energy in a marine environment. Washington, August 1959.