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stead of creating a new footprint, we were able to repur- pose something that already existed.”

The Biggest Challenge

While cooling is a natural advantage offshore, power generation remains the most signi? cant technical and eco- nomic hurdle.

Modern data centers are extraordinarily power-hungry. Even relatively small installations require 10–12MW, while current “You have an essentially unlimited source of market inquiries are clustering around 30–80MW, with AI- cooling water that you’re not consuming. That’s focused facilities pushing into the 100–300MW range.

a huge advantage in a world where freshwater “To put that in perspective, that’s far more power than is becoming increasingly precious.” most ships use just to operate,” Complita said. “The amount

Mike Complita, of onboard generation, fuel storage, and redundancy re-

Principal in Charge and Vice President of quired is enormous.”

Strategic Expansion at EBDG

For fully autonomous ? oating data centers — those not tied into shore power — the space required for generators, troduce vessel motions that can affect servers, cooling sys- fuel, exhaust systems, and redundancy can exceed the foot- tems, and power generation equipment.

print of the data center itself. Fuel logistics also become “As we look at more exposed or offshore applications, a major operational consideration, particularly when con- motion control becomes a serious design consideration,” tinuous uptime is non-negotiable. “These facilities can’t Complita said.

just shut down and go to a shipyard for maintenance,”

Complita noted. “Everything has to be designed with re- From Prototype to Scale dundancy so operations continue uninterrupted.” The Stockton ? oating data center, operating in the 10–

In the U.S., ? oating data centers tethered to shore and car- 12MW range, served as a functional prototype. Today’s rying no passengers are not Coast Guard-inspected vessels. market interest is dramatically larger.

However, most owners are choosing to pursue voluntary class “We’re seeing baseline requests at 30 megawatts, most in certi? cation through organizations such as ABS or DNV. the 50 to 80 range,” Complita said. “Once AI comes into “Class societies are starting to develop rule sets speci? cally play, that jumps even higher.” for ? oating data centers,” Complita said. “That’s important At those scales, ? oating data centers are no longer single plat- for insurance, ? nancing, and long-term asset management.” forms but modular ? eets — multiple barges operating togeth-

While classi? cation requirements differ from those of er, offering scalability unmatched by land-based construction.

traditional ships, owners should still expect periodic in- “That scalability is another big advantage,” Complita said. spection, maintenance planning, and lifecycle manage- “You don’t have to build everything at once. You can grow as ment considerations more akin to offshore infrastructure demand grows.” than conventional barges. While ? oating data centers remain a small slice of the global data infrastructure today, momentum is clearly build-

Designing for Data, Not Cargo ing. What was once an experimental concept is now draw-

From a naval architecture perspective, ? oating data cen- ing serious interest from major players in both the technol- ters may resemble barges, but their design priorities are fun- ogy and maritime sectors.

damentally different. The cooling system is the most critical “For a long time, this was a curiosity,” Complita said. and complex element, operating at a scale far beyond typical “Now it’s something companies are looking at strategically marine applications. Intake systems must minimize envi- to get ahead of their competitors.” ronmental impact, avoid harming marine life, and prevent For shipyards, designers, and marine equipment sup- debris accumulation, all while handling massive water ? ows. pliers, ? oating data centers could represent an interesting

EBDG’s Stockton design incorporated low-? ow intake opportunity: a high-value, technology-driven market that velocities and sophisticated, proprietary screening systems leverages core maritime expertise while opening the door to ensure ? sh and marine organisms could safely swim to a rapidly expanding digital economy.

away from intakes. As data demand continues to surge, the question may

Another emerging concern is motion sensitivity. While no longer be whether ? oating data centers make sense, but protected harbors pose little risk, offshore deployments in- how quickly the maritime industry is ready to deliver them.