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Series of self-powered, mobile maritime data centres unveiled
A South Carolina, US, partnership has introduced concept designs for floating data centres, with different power modules, to support growing demand from artificial intelligence
Optimal Transit has revealed concept designs for its Kraaken series of self-powered maritime data centres prepared to support growing processing demand from artificial intelligence (AI).
The Beaufort, South Carolina-headquartered partnership between InMar Technologies and OptiFuel Systems said these standardised offshore AI data centres could come with power generation of 10 MW, 20 MW, 50 MW and 100 MW.
They would eliminate dependence on land, an electrical grid, freshwater cooling, and conventional fuels while reducing infrastructure costs and deployment time, said Optimal Transit.
A Kraaken vessel would generate its own continuous electrical power, using Optimal Transit’s patented multi-stage digital ocean thermal (DOT) engine, which would combine the thermal energy naturally stored in the ocean with waste heat produced in the data centre.
Its designs are based on proven small waterplane-area twin-hull (SWATH) vessel technology, and a Kraaken would be either permanently moored offshore or independently sailing at sea.
If adverse weather threatens, a Kraaken could disconnect from its mooring and relocate under its own propulsion at speeds up to 16 knots, facilitating uninterrupted operations while avoiding major storms.
Stable hyperscale computing would be supported by continuous high bandwidth through satellite and line-of-sight communications to shore.
A shipyard could construct a Kraaken and install commercially available gas turbines, marine propulsion systems and liquid-cooled modular infrastructure.
Over the next nine months, proceeds from Optimal Transit’s ongoing Series A financing are expected to fund completion of ABS-ready engineering drawings for the 20 MW and 100 MW Kraaken SWATH vessels and digital twin validation of the DOT engine.
Optimal Transit would then seek to complete Series B financing in 2027 to partially fund production of the first Kraaken vessel.
“Artificial intelligence is creating unprecedented demand for power, water and land,” said Optimal Transit president Scott Myers.
“Kraaken takes a fundamentally different approach by moving data centre infrastructure offshore and using proven marine engineering together with our patented DOT technology to produce continuous electrical power," he said.
"Our innovation is not dependent on new scientific breakthroughs, it is built on integrating commercially proven technologies into a standardized platform.”
A Kraaken of 10 MW or 20 MW would be a 10,000 dwt, 76-m vessel configured for edge computing, sovereign cloud applications and regional AI processing.
For a Kraaken of 50 MW and 100 MW, a 50,000 dwt, 90-m vessel would be required and it would be optimised for hyperscale AI training and large language model applications.
Their computing hardware would be refreshed as technology evolves and power and propulsion systems would be continuously maintained.
The DOT engine incorporates multiple-stage Rankine cycle technology, enthalpy recovery logic, supercharging and green ammonia synthesis to maximise thermal efficiency and provide reliable, carbon-free baseload electrical generation.
The system is designed for continuous operation 365 days per year in marine environments ranging from equatorial waters to Arctic regions without requiring conventional fuel deliveries for data centre operations.
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