Transportable Nuclear Power Plants; more specifically, Floating Nuclear Power Plants (FNPPs) brings together the ancient traditions of maritime law with the contemporary implementation of nuclear law. Nowhere is this marriage more visible than in the consideration of which legal regimes apply to FNPPs and the subsequent question of how to develop physical protection strategies to ensure they are secure. While FNPPs provide great opportunity to provide clean and affordable power to remote regions of the world and to support nuclear newcomers in their energy needs, ensuring the proper physical protection requirements are paramount. Insofar as there is great interest in the deployment of FNPPs internationally, there is limited international guidance as to their physical protection, particularly in the maritime security domain. Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provides recommendations and guidance for the physical protection of nuclear material while in use and transport, the international maritime security regime is silent as to the utilization and protection of such assets in the maritime domain. In this marriage of nuclear law and maritime law, there is concern that existing international instruments do not provide adequate physical protection requirements and therefore require strengthening by the IAEA and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This paper identifies the regulatory requirements for the physical protection of FNPPs. The paper discusses multiple countries regulatory requirements for Small Modular Reactors, while addressing possible gaps in coverage under existing IMO and IAEA international legal instruments for the physical protection of an FNPP. The paper also describes physical protection requirements for an FNPP and identifies areas for future research in the field. Ultimately, the goal of this paper is to highlight that the FNPP provides an opportunity to harmonize physical protection requirements between nuclear and maritime security.
Year
2020
Abstract