Bureau Veritas (BV) has granted Approval in Principle (AiP) to Seatrium’s 30 MW floating data centre concept, following on from an earlier memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies to collaborate on offshore power and digital technologies.
Seatrium’s concept is based on a jetty-moored, non-propelled barge incorporating six independent 5 MW ‘Data-in-a-Box’ modules. Each module contains IT equipment, cooling systems, power distribution and supporting infrastructure, with the design intended to provide a modular approach to expanding computing capacity in coastal locations where land and power are constrained.
The concept uses natural seawater cooling and offshore siting. The company is also developing a 100 MW floating data centre concept based on the same modular approach.
BV assessed the concept’s technical feasibility against its classification rules, international standards and regulatory requirements. The review covered the general arrangement, cooling process flow, preliminary stability, marine systems and key safety considerations.
“Floating data centres demonstrate how maritime expertise can support the growing demand for resilient and sustainable computing capacity,” said Drago Pinteric, Vice President, Marine & Offshore Southeast Asia at Bureau Veritas.
The approval is intended to support the concept’s progression to the next stages of design and development, the partners noted.
“Floating data centres are a natural extension of Seatrium’s decades of expertise in delivering complex offshore and marine assets,” said Aziz Merchant, Executive Vice President, Technology & New Product Development at Seatrium.
“Bureau Veritas’ Approval in Principle provides an important validation of the concept and strengthens our confidence in progressing the development of this innovative, next-generation, offshore platform.”
