The Radioactive Nomad: The Liability Vacuum And Jurisdictional Ambiguity Of Floating Nuclear Power Plants In The High Seas
- IJLLR Journal
- May 14
- 2 min read
Sanjay Jagdish, Vellore Institute of Technology, School of Law, Chennai
ABSTRACT
Floating Nuclear Power Plants (FNPPs) are mobile nuclear reactors placed on ships or offshore platforms and operated on the high seas to supply electricity and Nuclear Energy to remote coastal regions, islands, and energy-deficient areas where land-based nuclear plants are costly, politically sensitive, or geographically impractical. While their offshore location offers advantages such as reduced land use, easier relocation, and proximity to coastal demand, it also creates serious legal and safety concerns because nuclear installations operating beyond national territory are exposed to risks of maritime accidents, radioactive leaks, environmental damage and cross- border harm, and despite these dangers there is no specific international organization or treaty that directly governs FNPPs on the high seas since existing nuclear law Governance like the Nuclear Liability Conventions (Paris and Vienna Conventions Regarding Liabilities Caused by Nuclear Reactors), The Convention on Nuclear Safety 1994 and maritime law frameworks such as The United Nations Conventions on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) in this aspect Speaks only for land-based reactors or conventional vessels and do not clearly Specify or apply to floating nuclear facilities operating in High Seas, which results in a liability vacuum where responsibility for nuclear damage remains uncertain where no single state has clear legal authority to regulate, license, inspect, or hold operators accountable for accidents on the high seas, thereby making FNPPs a grey zone under public international law and raising urgent questions about environmental protection, state responsibility, nuclear safety, and the need for a dedicated international legal framework to govern the operation of floating nuclear power plants beyond national jurisdiction.
Keywords: Floating Nuclear Power Plants (FNPPs), High Seas, Public International Law, Nuclear Safety, Environmental Protection, State Responsibility, UNCLOS, Grey Zone, Maritime Law, Cross-Border Harm, Beyond National Jurisdiction.
