Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk has joined Lloyd’s Register and ports in the US and UK to launch a study into a potential nuclear-powered containership corridor across the Atlantic, according to Lloyd’s Register.
The Pink Corridor project, launched on 2 September 2026 with South Carolina Ports and the Port of Felixstowe, will assess the operational, security and safeguards requirements for a theoretical nuclear-powered containership trading between Charleston and Felixstowe.
The work will cover port access, ship security, nuclear safeguards, cyber resilience, emergency response, insurance and the alignment of maritime and nuclear regulation.
“The Pink Corridor joint development programme is an important step for the application of nuclear technology in merchant shipping,” said Nick Gross, Lloyd’s Register’s global containerships segment director.
The first phase will identify practical requirements, regulatory gaps and further work needed before such a corridor could be considered. A second phase could examine engineering, regulatory, legislative, security and safeguards frameworks in greater detail.
The project follows a 2024 regulatory assessment by Lloyd’s Register and UK nuclear technology developer CORE POWER, later formalised with Maersk, and a Rotterdam study published on 11 June 2026 into the feasibility and regulatory requirements for nuclear-powered commercial ship port calls. That work did not constitute a Maersk decision to pursue nuclear propulsion.
A.P. Moller-Maersk is a Danish integrated logistics group operating more than 700 containerships and serving customers in about 130 countries.
Lloyd’s Register, founded in London in 1760, provides maritime classification, assurance and advisory services.
CORE POWER develops nuclear technology for maritime applications.