Hanwha Ocean has received approval in principle (AiP) from ABS for the concept design of a 60 MW floating data center.
The project combines Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding and offshore engineering expertise with infrastructure designed to address some of the land, power and cooling constraints associated with conventional data centers.
The approval remains at the concept stage, with no construction order, deployment location or project timeline disclosed.
Offshore engineering meets data center demand
Interest in floating data centers is growing as developers explore alternative locations for power-intensive digital infrastructure.
“Interest in floating data centers is growing, and the industry is looking for practical ways to take new infrastructure from concept to reality,” said Patrick Ryan, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ABS.
Ryan highlighted Hanwha Ocean’s experience in developing complex offshore structures as relevant to the emerging sector.
Hanwha Ocean said it plans to combine its shipbuilding and offshore engineering capabilities with Hanwha Group’s expertise in energy and data.
ABS evaluates larger floating data center concepts
The 60 MW Hanwha Ocean design forms part of a wider push by ABS into floating data center technology.
Over the past year, the classification society has issued approvals for conceptual floating data centers with capacities ranging from 50 MW to 200 MW.
ABS also published a study in 2025 examining the potential use of nuclear power for floating data centers as the offshore energy and digital infrastructure sectors continue to develop.
