ABS has issued approval in principle (AIP) to Hanwha Ocean for the concept design of a 60 megawatt (MW) floating data center.
The concept reflects continued progress in the development of floating data centers as developers evaluate offshore solutions to address land, power and cooling constraints associated with conventional facilities.
“Interest in floating data centers is growing, and the industry is looking for practical ways to take new infrastructure from concept to reality. Hanwha Ocean has built some of the most technically demanding offshore structures in the world, and that experience matters when applying offshore engineering to this emerging space. ABS is proud to support this work as the market continues to develop,” said Patrick Ryan, ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
“We appreciate ABS for recognizing Hanwha Ocean’s technological capabilities. By combining our accumulated expertise in shipbuilding and offshore engineering with Hanwha Group’s capabilities in energy and data, we will deliver innovative solutions that address the limitations of land-based data centers and lead the global floating data center market,” said Young-chang Shon, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of the Product & Technology Strategy at Hanwha Ocean.
ABS has been at the forefront of applying class requirements to the emerging floating data center sector. Over the past year, approvals have been issued for conceptual floating data centers ranging from 50 to 200 MW capacity. ABS also published a study in 2025 examining the use of nuclear power for floating data centers, reflecting the ongoing evolution of offshore energy and digital infrastructure.
ABS supports the full life cycle of marine and offshore assets, from early concept review through classification and in-service support.
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