Squeezed on land, Samsung wants to put data centres out to sea

As data centres run into unhappy neighbours and water limits on land, Samsung wants to float them offshore. Samsung Heavy Industries plans to launch its first floating data centre by 2028, Seoul Economic Daily reported. It would be a purpose-built barge parked near the coast.

The design is specific. Rather than convert an old ship, Samsung is building a new 50MW barge with a server hall, onboard power generation and liquefied natural gas fuel tanks. The first version is “nearshore”, sitting close to land and drawing some power from the grid, a hedged first step before anything ventures far out to sea.

Why put a data centre on water

The pitch answers a growing problem on land. Data centres need vast plots, cheap power and huge volumes of water for cooling, and communities increasingly refuse to give up all three. Floating offshore sidesteps land shortages and slow planning fights, while the sea offers ready cooling.

The economics stay unproven. Saltwater corrodes, storms threaten, and running fibre and power to a barge adds cost and risk. Samsung is betting the trade is worth it as AI demand outruns what many grids and towns will bear.

A shipbuilder’s pivot

The move also reflects where shipbuilding is heading. Samsung’s yards are hungry for new work. “Data centres on the sea” turn spare hull-building capacity into AI infrastructure. “Floating datacentres represent a major new opportunity for the shipbuilding and offshore industries,” said Samsung Heavy Industries chief executive Sung-an Choi.

Rivals are circling the same idea. A Japanese pair, Mitsui OSK Lines and Hitachi, is fitting data-centre kit onto existing ships, aiming to go live in 2027. China has gone further and put a data centre under the sea.

Samsung is not going it alone either. At the Posidonia maritime fair it signed partners including Greece’s Capital Clean Energy Carriers and the classification society Lloyd’s Register. It also struck a deal with Supermicro to test AI servers at sea, The Register reported. The American Bureau of Shipping and Lloyd’s Register have granted approval in principle.

Why it matters

Floating data centres remain a bet, not a fact. But a shipbuilder drawing up plans shows how far the industry will go to escape the backlash on land. If neighbours will not host AI’s power-hungry sheds, the next stop may be just off the coast.