6 Oct 2025
NEMO successfully hosted the Security-by-Design workshop on 2–3 October, bringing together 64 participants from industry and NEMO member organizations. Held at Lloyd’s Register, the event featured insightful presentations from key stakeholders including IMO, IAEA, WNTI, ONR, IMCSO, and NTS. These contributions offered diverse perspectives on Nuclear Security in the design context of commercial nuclear ships.
The workshop was facilitated by a NEMO member from GNSP and focused on practical approaches to implementing Security-by-Design principles.
The focus of the workshop was to share the requirements for security from both the maritime and the nuclear sectors, and to then start understanding how those requirements can be integrated into uniform standards for the civil nuclear maritime industry. The IMO discussed their requirements from the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, including its International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS Code). The IAEA discussed the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (A/CPPNM), and their requirements and guidance documents that describe implementation. There were specific presentations from the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) that addressed their experience and areas of focus for civil nuclear maritime, cybersecurity discussions, and discussions from organizations currently transporting high-level radioactive materials at sea on how they approach security. Finally, the workshop concluded with an exercise that brought everything together to force attendees to consider civil nuclear maritime propulsion and how that will be the same and how it will differ from non-nuclear propulsion.
The workshop was the first modern event where there was a public dialogue between the IAEA and IMO on security issues for civil nuclear maritime activities. The dialogue gave all attendees an understanding of the security requirements for both maritime and nuclear sectors, and an opportunity to start developing approaches to meet them. Identifying the preferred reactor type and its categorisation is key to firmly establishing the regulatory requirements. The current regulatory frameworks, for both nuclear and maritime security, provide for the essential principles that will underpin the synergised arrangements for FNPP.
This workshop was the first of what will become a series of events to ensure this developing area effectively and efficiently provides security throughout its lifecycle.