National Historic Landmark Nuclear Ship Savannah Available; Request for Information; Period Extension, 5295-5297 [2024-01502]

Agencies

• Maritime Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5295-5297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01502]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number MARAD-2020-0133]


National Historic Landmark Nuclear Ship Savannah Available; 
Request for Information; Period Extension

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of vessel availability and request for information 
period extension.

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SUMMARY: On October 30, 2023, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) 
published a Notice of Availability and Request for Information (NOA and 
RFI) in the Federal Register to determine preservation interest from 
entities that may wish to acquire the National Historic Landmark (NHL) 
Nuclear Ship Savannah (NSS). MARAD is decommissioning the nuclear power 
plant of the NSS, which will result in the termination of the ship's 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license, making the ship available 
for disposition, including potential conveyance or preservation. 
Information received in response to this RFI will help to inform the 
development of viable preservation alternatives for the NSS. Due to 
interest generated and to allow interested parties additional time to 
respond, MARAD is extending the response period by 45 days, to April 1, 
2024, and adding an additional information session/site visit. In 
responding to the RFI, please review the below SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION/Information Requested section to inform your submission.

DATES: The response period for this RFI, published October 30, 2023 (88 
FR 74228), is extended to April 1, 2024.
    MARAD will host an additional information session/site visit for 
interested parties on February 24, 2024, to allow potential responders 
the opportunity to ask MARAD questions regarding the NSS and to view 
the ship. The information session will take place in a hybrid format, 
and will be held onboard the NSS, online, or by phone. The site visit 
will be held onboard the NSS. You must RSVP for the information 
session/site visit to the email or phone number listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below no later than February 17, 
2024, to facilitate entry or to receive information to attend 
virtually.
    Parties who are unable to make this date may request alternate 
arrangements by contacting the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section.

[[Page 5296]]

    Special Services. The NSS is not compliant with the Americans with 
Disabilities Act. The ship has some capability to accommodate persons 
with impaired mobility, for which advance notice is required. If you 
require accommodations to attend the site visit, please include this 
information in your RSVP. The U.S. Department of Transportation is 
committed to providing all participants equal access to this meeting. 
If you need alternative formats or services such as sign language, 
interpretation, or other ancillary aids, please also include that in 
your RSVP. Additional dates may be provided, or parties may request 
alternate dates subject to the same conditions as above.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your responses to this RFI and any 
supplemental information by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Please include NS Savannah 
RFI in the subject line of the email.
     Mail: N.S. Savannah/Savannah Technical Staff, Pier 13 
Canton Marine Terminal, 4601 Newgate Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224, ATTN: 
Erhard Koehler.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Search MARAD-2020-0133 and follow the instructions 
for submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erhard W. Koehler, Senior Technical 
Advisor, N.S. Savannah, Maritime Administration, at (202) 680-2066 or 
via email at [email protected]. Additional information regarding 
the vessel is available at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/nssavannah.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Built in 1959, the NSS is the world's first nuclear-powered 
merchant ship and served as a signature element of President 
Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program. While in service, NSS 
demonstrated the peaceful use of atomic power and explored the 
feasibility of nuclear-powered merchant vessels. NSS was retired from 
active service in 1970. The ship was listed in the National Register of 
Historic Places in 1983 and designated as an NHL in 1991 for exhibiting 
exceptional value in illustrating the nuclear, maritime, 
transportation, and political heritages of the United States.

Disposition

    The NRC license termination will lead to MARAD's disposition of the 
NSS. Because the decommissioning and disposition of the NHL ship is an 
Undertaking under Section 106 of the NHPA, with an unknown end-state, 
MARAD developed and executed a PA covering the decommissioning and 
disposition of the ship. The PA outlines the process by which the 
disposition of NSS will be considered among the NRC, the Advisory 
Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the Maryland State 
Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). Concurrent with the 
decommissioning project, MARAD requests information from entities that 
may be interested in acquiring the ship for conveyance and preservation 
purposes as prescribed in the PA. The approximate date on which the 
vessel will be available for transfer is three (3) to six (6) months 
after NRC license termination.
    Stipulation IV of the PA outlines a disposition alternatives 
development process wherein MARAD will study and evaluate alternatives 
that would result in the preservation of the NSS. This process will 
include the development of a Disposition Alternatives Study and the 
publication of a NOA and RFI. Although the PA lists these activities 
sequentially, with the Disposition Alternatives Study preceding the 
publication of the NOA and RFI, the signatories of the PA recently 
concurred that the NOA and RFI will instead precede the Disposition 
Alternatives Study. Therefore, MARAD is publishing this NOA and RFI in 
accordance with Stipulation IV of the PA, in advance of the Disposition 
Alternatives Study.

Conveyance Methods

    MARAD is investigating several different methods of conveyance of 
the NSS, and these will be presented in the Disposition Alternatives 
Study. These conveyance methods may or may not involve MARAD's 
continued involvement with the ship. However, in order to foster 
preservation by removing a future encumbrance, MARAD will either retain 
the title or will retain a reversionary interest in the title. By this 
act MARAD is choosing to defer its obligation to scrap Savannah to some 
future date. MARAD's existing ship donation authority is one of the 
methods of conveyance that will be used. Parties interested in 
obtaining the vessel through this method may apply at any time. Further 
information on MARAD's ship donation program may be found at the 
following link: https://www.maritime.dot.gov/national-defense-reserve-fleet/ship-disposal-program/ship-donation.
    Other conveyance methods may include, but are not limited to, a 
modified donation process, chartering or leasing the ship, cooperative 
agreements, or potentially partnering with another entity to maintain 
and operate the ship. MARAD expects to convey the ship in as-is 
condition at the time of conveyance, to include all mooring lines, 
fenders, and related equipment, all safety equipment, including spare 
parts for active safety systems, and tools and stock. The ship will 
contain a full complement of drawings, and technical and operating 
manuals. The ship's historic fabric will not be disturbed; however, if 
title is transferred from the Federal Government some material may be 
removed as mitigation. All mitigation efforts will be subject to 
consultation in accordance with the stipulations in the PA.

Technical Information

    Technical information about the NSS in its present configuration 
will be posted to the MARAD docket and website concurrent with the 
publication of this notice. The information will include at least the 
following:
     Ship's drawings and photographs;
     Reports documenting the ship's existing material condition 
and expected condition at the time of license termination;
     Utility consumption data; and,
     Last material inventory completed.

Information Requested

    RFI respondents should provide MARAD with a capability statement 
that includes at least the following information:
     Proposed use(s) for the ship;
     Mission statement for your organization;
     Proposed or potential locations for ship;
     Staffing resources for maintaining and operating the ship;
     Experience with ship maintenance and operations;
     Experience with historic property or structures;
     Funding sources; and,
     Preferred conveyance mechanism for acquisition of the 
ship.
    Responses, including personal identifiable information will be made 
public, so please provide any confidential information in a separate 
attachment clearly labeled, so that it may be withheld from disclosure 
as provided by law. Respondents should consider and discuss in their 
capability statement factors such as the density of museum ships in the 
location proposed, the nexus between the proposed location and NSS 
operating history, and any other relevant special criteria favoring the 
response.

Background

    Built in 1959, the NSS is the world's first nuclear-powered 
merchant ship

[[Page 5297]]

and served as a signature element of President Eisenhower's Atoms for 
Peace program. While in service, the NSS demonstrated the peaceful use 
of atomic power as well as the feasibility of nuclear-powered merchant 
vessels. NSS operated in experimental service as a passenger/cargo ship 
from 1962 to 1965, during which time it travelled 90,000 miles, visited 
13 countries, and hosted 1.4 million visitors. Following the successful 
conclusion of the experimental phase, the ship entered its commercial 
phase in 1965. The ship was operated as a cargo ship generating nearly 
$12,000,000 in revenue between 1965 and 1970, as well as continuing to 
serve as a goodwill ambassador for the peaceful use of nuclear power. 
After successfully fulfilling its objectives, NSS operations were 
ceased in 1970 and the ship was deactivated and defueled in 1971.
    Following deactivation, the NSS was moved to the city of Savannah, 
GA, where it was to be part of a proposed Eisenhower Peace Memorial; 
however, the memorial was never established. In 1980, Congress passed 
Public Law 96-331, which authorized the Secretary of Commerce to 
bareboat charter the ship to the Patriots Point Development Authority 
of South Carolina. The NSS operated as a museum ship at the Patriots 
Point Naval and Maritime Museum from 1981 through 1994. During this 
time, the NSS was listed in the National Register of Historic Places 
(1983) and designated as an NHL (1991) for exhibiting exceptional value 
in illustrating the nuclear, maritime, transportation, and political 
heritages of the United States. Additionally, during this time the ship 
was designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering 
Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1983) and a 
Nuclear Engineering Landmark by the American Nuclear Society (1991).
    Following termination of the charter in 1994, the NSS returned to 
MARAD and was entered into the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia. 
The ship was removed from the reserve fleet in 2006 and underwent 
repairs prior to being relocated in 2008 to Baltimore, Maryland, where 
it is currently berthed. In 2017, funds for decommissioning of the ship 
were appropriated. Because the decommissioning and disposition of the 
NSS is an Undertaking under Section 106 of the NHPA, MARAD initiated 
consultation in 2018 with the Maryland SHPO, the ACHP, the NRC, the 
NPS, and other consulting parties. Given the complexities of the 
Undertaking, including the yet undetermined disposition of the NSS, the 
parties agreed to develop a PA to guide the execution of the 
Undertaking.
    The PA for the Decommissioning and Disposition of the NSS was 
executed in March 2023, and it outlines the process by which the 
disposition of NSS will be considered and executed, concurrent with the 
decommissioning project. The decommissioning process is well underway, 
and dismantlement and removal of the major systems, structures, and 
components that were part of the ship's nuclear power plant is 
complete. As part of the decommissioning process, MARAD has made 
numerous modifications and improvements to the NSS from 2015 through 
the present. These improvements include climate controls, sanitary 
spaces, shore power, mechanical systems, mooring and access/egress 
equipment, alarm, and monitoring systems (fire/smoke, intrusion, 
flooding, security cameras), restored public spaces, office spaces, and 
administrative infrastructure. Typically, the greatest challenge to any 
static museum ship effort is the cost associated with converting or 
transforming the ship into a site suitable and safe for visitors. MARAD 
has already made improvements, as listed above, which may help to 
defray some of the initial starting costs for potential recipients who 
may be interested in receiving the ship. Additional details about the 
ship's condition are included in the attachments posted to the MARAD 
docket and website.
    The disposition process is sequenced to reach a conclusion at the 
same time that decommissioning ends--effective with the license 
termination to allow a seamless transition to whichever end-state 
condition is approved. MARAD anticipates making its disposition 
decision no later than the license termination date with conveyance to 
follow three to six months later, after decommissioning, 
demobilization, and vessel redelivery contract actions are completed.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). For information on DOT's compliance with 
the Privacy Act, please visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.81 and 1.93; 36 CFR part 800; 5 U.S.C. 552b.)

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-01502 Filed 1-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P