WORLD SHIP SOCIETY

Nuclear Ship SAVANNAH is the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship, built at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, NJ, under President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace Program. Throughout its operation, the ship called in New Jersey, while Hoboken served as its home base. As responsible stewards of a National Historic Landmark, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) worked to minimize adverse effects during the decommissioning process and were able to save key elements of the nuclear power plant and even improve the ship in the process. When the decommissioning process is complete (anticipated 2026), the ship will be available for preservation. This program will highlight the history of the ship, how the decommissioning process improved the ship, and what must be done before SAVANNAH enters its next act.

Erhard Koehler is a graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College with a degree in Naval Architecture. He first worked as a structural and field-support engineer with the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Soon after he joined MARAD’s Office of Ship Operations in Washington, DC. An avid amateur maritime historian, in 1992, Erhard enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity to oversee SAVANNAH’s return to MARAD custody from the Patriot’s Point Naval and Maritime Museum and her subsequent 1994 drydocking and relocation to the agency’s reserve fleet site near Newport News, Virginia. Erhard remained with the ship as a project engineer and member of the licensee organization during its protective storage period. In 2004, he advanced to the agency’s senior SAVANNAH management positions and is responsible for all SAVANNAH program activities, operations, maintenance, repair, custody and preservation.

If you missed Erhard’s presentation at our September virtual membership meeting, or would like to see it again, we encourage you to join us for this encore showing at 10:00 AM (ET) on Saturday, October 4, 2025.

(Image: Pat Dacey collection)