[7] In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed building a nuclear-powered merchant ship as a showcase for his "Atoms for Peace" initiative.

[8] The next year, the United States Congress authorized Savannah as a joint project of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the Department of Commerce.

These included demonstrations of advancements in peaceful uses of atomic energy, such as food products preserved by radiation, new applications for technology and many information and education programs.

The appearance of Savannah and the Nuclear Week festival program was designed and implemented by Charles Yulish Associates and supported by contributions from leading energy companies.

According to an Eisenhower administration statement to Congress, "The President seeks no return on this vessel except the goodwill of men everywhere ...

[10] George G. Sharp, Inc., a prominent naval architecture firm in New York City founded in 1920, was responsible for all of Savannah's design but the Babcock & Wilcox nuclear reactor.

Savannah was the sixth large ship to have fin stabilizers, intended to enhance the safety of the reactor and improve passenger comfort.

Since the reactor occupied the center of the ship and required clear overhead crane access during refueling, the superstructure was set far back on the hull.

The bar was provided with enclosed walkways outboard, and a glass wall overlooking the swimming pool and promenade deck aft.

The interior of "A" Deck contains the main lobby and purser's office, the infirmary, barber, beautician and steward's facilities, as well as the health physics laboratory intended to monitor the effects of the nuclear reactor.

At the opposite end of the dining room a metal model of the SS Savannah is set in a glass panel.

The steel vessel has a wall thickness varying from 2+1⁄2–4 inches (65–100 mm), designed to accommodate the 186 psi (1.28 MPa) gauge pressure generated by a ruptured primary coolant pipe.

The steam and water chemistry program was set up and managed by the Bull & Roberts Company to match the systems it provided for US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

The motor was driven by either the ship's steam turbogenerators or the 750 kW emergency diesel generators located in the rear of the pilothouse.

The motor was upgraded to provide greater torque and reversibility to allow it to move the ship away from a pier in the event of a reactor accident.

[10] Savannah was a demonstration of the technical feasibility of nuclear propulsion for merchant ships and was not expected to be commercially competitive.

She was designed to be visually impressive, looking more like a luxury yacht than a bulk cargo vessel, and was equipped with thirty air-conditioned staterooms, each with an individual bathroom, a dining facility for 100 passengers, a lounge that could double as a movie theatre, a veranda, a swimming pool and a library.

She performed well at sea, her safety record was impressive, and her gleaming white paint was never smudged by exhaust smoke, except when running the diesel generator.

[citation needed] However, Savannah's cargo space was limited to 8,500 short tons (7,700 tonnes) of freight in 652,000 cubic feet (18,500 m3).

Her crew was a third larger than comparable oil-fired ships and received special training in addition to that required for conventional maritime licenses.

[10] As a result of her design handicaps, training requirements, and additional crew members, Savannah cost approximately US$2 million a year more in operating subsidies than a similarly sized Mariner-class ship with a conventional oil-fired steam plant.

From there she passed through the Panama Canal and visited Hawaii and ports on the west coast of the United States, becoming a popular exhibit for three weeks at the Century 21 Exposition in Seattle.

This involved a switch to non-union crew, which became a lingering issue in the staffing of proposed future nuclear ships.

[10] By 1964, Savannah started a tour of the US Gulf and east coast ports under the command of captain Gaston R. De Groote.

[citation needed] In 1981, Savannah was obtained via bareboat charter for display at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Although the museum had use of the vessel, ownership of Savannah remained with the Maritime Administration, and the Patriots Point Development Authority had to be designated a "co-licensee" for the ship's reactor.

[citation needed] The museum had hoped to recondition and improve the ship's public spaces for visitors, but these plans never materialized.

When a periodic MARAD inspection in 1993 indicated a need to dry dock Savannah, Patriots Point and the Maritime Administration agreed to terminate the ship's charter in 1994.

A MARAD spokesman told The Baltimore Sun in May 2008 that the maritime agency envisions the ship's eventual conversion into a museum, but that no investors have yet offered to undertake the project.

[6] While still under a long term contract with Canton Marine Terminal, NS Savannah was towed via C&D canal to Philadelphia for drydock maintenance and pre-decommission work in early September 2019.