Otto Hahn (ship)

NS Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn in Hamburg harbour, 9 June 1970
Otto Hahn in Hamburg harbour, 9 June 1970
History
NameOtto Hahn
NamesakeOtto Hahn
Ordered27 November 1962
BuilderHowaldtswerke, Kiel
Cost56,000,000 German marks
Yard number1103
Laid down31 August 1963
Launched13 June 1964
Completed1 October 1968
In service11 October 1968
Identification
FateSold for scrap, 2009
General characteristics
TypeNuclear-powered cargo vessel
Tonnage
Length172.05 m (564 ft 6 in)
Beam23.40 m (76 ft 9 in)
Draught9.22 m (30 ft 3 in)
Installed power11,000 metric horsepower (8.09 MW)
Propulsion
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Crew63
Funnel of Otto Hahn preserved at the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum in Bremerhaven

Otto Hahn was one of only four nuclear-powered cargo vessels built to date. Planning of a German-built trade and research vessel to test the feasibility of nuclear power in civil service began in 1960 under the supervision of German physicist Erich Bagge. Launched in 1964, her nuclear reactor was deactivated 15 years later in 1979 and replaced by a conventional diesel engine room. The ship was scrapped in 2009.