COPENHAGEN, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Danish shipping group

Maersk has agreed to join a study by maritime

services firm Lloyd's Register (LR) and UK-based Core Power,

that will assess the potential for nuclear-powered container

shipping in Europe, LR said on Thursday.

The maritime industry has been exploring whether nuclear

fuel can be used to power commercial ships as technological

advancements have opened up such options, but industry officials

last year said nuclear fuel solutions for ships were at least a

decade away.

Maersk, LR and Core Power will assess the regulatory

feasibility and frameworks that would be needed for a container

ship using a fourth-generation nuclear reactor to undertake

cargo operations in Europe, LR said in a statement.

Small and mass-produced reactors, which are envisaged to be

fitted onboard ships, are less powerful and consume less nuclear

fuel than traditional nuclear sites.

The companies will investigate the requirements for updated

safety rules along with the operational and regulatory

understanding that is needed to use nuclear power in container

shipping, LR said.

Shipping, which transports around 90% of world trade,

accounts for nearly 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions, and

the industry is under pressure from investors and

environmentalists to find cleaner fuel solutions.

"Nuclear power holds a number of challenges related to for

example safety, waste management, and regulatory acceptance

across regions, and so far, the downsides have clearly

outweighed the benefits of the technology," Ole Graa Jakobsen,

Maersk's head of fleet technology said in a statement.

"If these challenges can be addressed by development of the

new so-called fourth-generation reactor designs, nuclear power

could potentially mature into another possible decarbonization

pathway for the logistics industry 10 to 15 years in the

future," he said.

A survey by the International Chamber of Shipping last year

in May said nuclear fuel was being viewed with more interest

than in 2021, with some seeing nuclear-powered commercial ships

being viable within the next decade.