In general, the following safety requirements were used by the
SAVANNAH’s architects, George G. Sharp, Inc., in the design of the ship:
(1) The ship is as safe as, or safer than, any other vessel of its class
with regard to the usual “hazards of the sea”; and
(2) In no credible accident can there be any hazardous release of
radioactivity to the surroundings.
The SAVANNAH is designed to a two-compartment standard of subdivision
(i.e., the ship will remain afloat with two main compartments totally
flooded) at a draft of 29 feet, 6 inches. The ship complies with all the
applicable laws of the United States and requirements of the regulatory
bodies and rules in force as to standards of safety.
Structurally, the SAVANNAH differs from conventional passenger-cargo
ships only in that the reactor and containment foundations are
comparatively much heavier than the foundations for normal ship’s
machinery. The heavy longitudinal members are carried well beyond the
reactor space bulkheads to tie with a smooth transition into the
double-bottom structure.
Stability equivalent to that of a conventional passenger-cargo ship with
fuel oil tanks full has been obtained in the SAVANNAH. In addition,
because there is no fuel oil to be consumed in passage, there is less
variation in the stability of the ship during the course of a long
voyage.