Basic characteristics of a 500 feet 40 knots speed general cargo nuclear propelled submarine calculated around 1962

Speed 40 knots. Dimensions 504 (overall) x 100.8 (breadth of hull) x 50.4 (depth of hull) feet, 51,374 tons displacement total (T) in long tons of 2,240 pounds, leightweight included lead ballast 30,959 tons,  lead ballast 9,134 tons, liquid ballast 8,540 tons, free flooding water 380 tons, less liquid ballast deadweight 20,629 tons, less ballast deadweight 11,495 tons, deadweight cargo 11,200 tons, measurement 23,050 tons of cargo c 40 square feet/ton, bale cubic x 10cubicfeet cubic 922, 14,200 tons gross tonnage, 10,340 tons net tonnage, Horsepower 150,000 shp.Crew 64 men. Deadweight-displacement ratio 0.218.

Voyage costs excluding stevedoring and agency fees

Sea costs -dollars per day x days 653,500

Port costs-dollars per day x days 466,300

Total cost per voyage 1,119,800

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 9,400

Hull engineering 2,840

Outfitting 3,770

Machinery (1) 64,020

Inspections&owners outfit 1,600

Engineering (8%) 6,410

Lead 3,480

Total 91,520

(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 27

Stewards 15

Total 64

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.