NS Savannah was the first nuclear-powered merchant ship. She was built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million (including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core) and launched on July 21, 1959. She was funded by United States government agencies. Savannah was a demonstration project for the potential use of nuclear energy.[6] The ship was named after SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic ocean. She was in service between 1962 and 1972.