Argentina's Nuclear Regulatory Authority and Brazil's Naval Secretariat for Nuclear Safety and Quality aim to develop regulation relating to the use of nuclear reactors on ships.

(Image: ARN)

The first vice president of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) Board of Directors, Carlos Terrado, said: "Technological advances - particularly small modular reactors and shipboard or floating platform reactor projects - open up significant opportunities and raise the need for closer coordination. Harmonising regulatory frameworks, exchanging experiences, and consolidating compatible technical approaches are essential to ensure predictability, safety, and transparency.

"This agreement represents a significant step towards rigorously and cooperatively supporting the technological evolution of the nuclear sector, especially in maritime and river environments."

Admiral Petronio Augusto Siqueira De Aguiar, from the Naval Secretariat for Nuclear Safety and Quality (SecNSNQ), said: "The energy transition process we are experiencing guides us to work together to evolve nuclear regulations and their necessary harmonisation, with a view to the use of nuclear reactors on board ships worldwide and, especially, in our jurisdictional waters."

The memorandum, signed in December, is described as aiming to establish the framework for the exchange of information and technical cooperation for exclusively peaceful purposes "in relation to the application of nuclear energy in maritime and river environments".

ARN said that it would help strengthen regulatory frameworks in both countries and builds on 40 years of cooperation between Argentina and Brazil on nuclear non-proliferation.