Samsung Heavy Industries says it is widening partnerships around floating data centers, including work with Lloyd’s Register, LR Advisory, Capital, and Supermicro, as AI growth puts pressure on power, land, and cooling resources. The company has also cited a goal of commercializing floating data centers by the secon...
Samsung Heavy Industries is expanding global partnerships for floating data centers as it seeks to develop offshore infrastructure for AI-era computing demand.
Samsung Heavy Industries, or SHI, said in a company notice that it is broadening cooperation with Capital, Lloyd’s Register, LR Advisory, and Supermicro for its floating data center business. The company said the partnerships are intended to support development of floating facilities that can host AI servers and related infrastructure at sea.
According to SHI, the work includes offshore AI server validation and collaboration on business models, engineering, and risk management. Lloyd’s Register and LR Advisory are expected to contribute classification and consulting expertise, while Supermicro is involved in AI server-related validation, according to SHI’s announcement.
The move comes as data center operators face constraints around land, grid access, and cooling. SHI has framed floating data centers as one possible response to those limits, using offshore platforms and marine engineering to house high-density computing systems.
In a separate announcement, SHI said its 50MW floating data center design received Approval in Principle from both the American Bureau of Shipping and Lloyd’s Register. Approval in Principle is an early-stage assessment indicating that a design concept is feasible under relevant technical and safety considerations, though it is not the same as final certification for construction or operation.
SHI also said it signed memoranda of understanding with companies including ABB and Mousterian as part of efforts to advance commercialization. The company described those agreements as part of a broader strategy to prepare for entry into the U.S. market for floating data centers.
Data Center Dynamics reported that Samsung Heavy Industries is targeting a second-quarter 2028 launch for its floating data center offering and wants orders in place by the time of launch. Kyunghyang Shinmun also reported that SHI has set a concrete timetable to commercialize floating data centers by the second quarter of 2028, citing growing demand for data centers driven by AI.
The concept of putting data centers at sea is not new, but AI demand has renewed interest in alternative infrastructure models. Large AI workloads can require substantial electricity, cooling, and physical space. In dense markets, those requirements can create delays or raise costs when utilities, permitting processes, or land availability cannot keep pace.
SHI’s pitch draws on its shipbuilding and offshore engineering capabilities. A floating design could, in theory, place computing infrastructure near coastal power resources or industrial zones while reducing competition for urban land. However, the model also introduces marine-specific challenges, including safety standards, maintenance access, corrosion, weather exposure, power delivery, network connectivity, and environmental permitting.
The involvement of classification and advisory organizations such as Lloyd’s Register indicates that technical assurance and risk management are likely to be central to any commercial deployment. SHI’s announcements do not state that a commercial floating data center is already operating; instead, the company is describing design approvals, memoranda of understanding, partner expansion, and a commercialization target.
For enterprise technology leaders, SHI’s plans reflect a broader infrastructure trend: AI demand is pushing suppliers to explore new locations and facility types for compute capacity. Floating data centers remain an emerging category, and their competitiveness will depend on cost, reliability, regulatory approval, energy sourcing, and operational performance.
SHI’s latest partnership announcements suggest the company is moving from concept development toward validation and commercialization planning. If the company meets the timeline reported by Data Center Dynamics and Kyunghyang Shinmun, the first commercial phase would arrive in the second quarter of 2028.
Until then, the key questions are practical rather than speculative: whether offshore data centers can meet enterprise reliability requirements, whether marine infrastructure can lower or stabilize deployment costs, and whether regulators and customers will accept data centers operating at sea.
Samsung Heavy Industries is expanding global partnerships for floating data centers as it seeks to develop offshore infrastructure for AI era computing demand.
The company said the partnerships are intended to support development of floating facilities that can host AI servers and related infrastructure at sea.
According to SHI, the work includes offshore AI server validation and collaboration on business models, engineering, and risk management.
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