As data centers face disgruntled neighbors and water restrictions on land, Samsung is looking to put them at sea. Samsung Heavy Industries plans to launch its first floating data center by 2028, Seoul Economic Daily. It will be a custom-built barge that will be located near the coast.
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The design is specific. Rather than converting an old ship, Samsung is building a new 50MW barge with a server room, built-in power generation and LNG fuel tanks. The first version is “near shore,” located close to land and drawing some power from the grid, a cautious first step before anything goes far out to sea.
The proposal addresses a growing problem on land. Data centers require vast tracts of land, cheap energy, and large amounts of water for cooling, and communities are increasingly reluctant to give up all three. Offshore shipping bypasses land shortages and slow planning disputes, while the sea offers ready-made cooling. Using seawater for cooling can significantly reduce costs and resource consumption, offering a sustainable solution to the growing needs of data centers.
The economic viability remains untested. Saltwater erodes, storms threaten, and running fiber optics and power on a barge adds cost and risk. Samsung is betting the tradeoff is worth it as demand for AI outstrips what many networks and cities can handle. The growing demand for AI and the need for computing power make floating data centers an attractive option, despite the challenges.
The move also reflects the direction of the shipbuilding industry. Samsung’s shipyards are hungry for new work. “At-sea data centers” are turning spare shipbuilding capacity into AI infrastructure. “Floating data centers represent a major new opportunity for the shipbuilding and offshore industries,” said Samsung Heavy Industries CEO Sung-an Choi.
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The ability to build such innovative structures can breathe new life into the industry, offering solutions that combine shipbuilding with cutting-edge technology.
Competitors are circling the same idea. A Japanese pair, Mitsui OSK Lines and Hitachi, are putting data center equipment on existing ships, aiming to be operational by 2027. China has gone further and placed a data center under the sea. These initiatives show that the idea of floating or underwater data centers is gaining traction worldwide, with different countries exploring different approaches to addressing the same problems.
Samsung is not going it alone. At the Posidonia show, it signed partnerships with companies such as Greece's Capital Clean Energy Carriers and classification society Lloyd's Register. It also struck a deal with Supermicro to test AI servers at sea. The American Bureau of Shipping and Lloyd's Register have granted approval in principle.
These partnerships enhance the credibility of the venture and offer the necessary expertise and support for the successful implementation of the project.
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Floating data centers remain a gamble, not a fact. But a shipbuilder drawing up plans shows how far the industry will go to escape the backlash on land. If neighbors don’t host energy-hungry AI facilities, the next stop could be just offshore. Moving data centers to the sea could be a radical solution to address pressures from local communities and environmental concerns, opening up new horizons for technology and industry.
