Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) is expanding global partnerships to gain an early lead in the floating data center (FDC) market, which is drawing attention amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The shipbuilder said Wednesday it will participate in Posidonia 2026, the world's largest shipping exhibition, held in Athens, Greece, from the 1st to the 5th local time. At the exhibition, Samsung Heavy Industries discussed multifaceted business cooperation with global shipping companies, ranging from FDC project sourcing and investment to core technology development.
Earlier, on the 2nd, Samsung Heavy Industries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) on FDCs with Greek shipowner Capital and the U.K.-based Lloyd's Register (LR). Under the agreement, Samsung Heavy Industries will handle FDC technology and construction, Capital will lead project sourcing and investment, and Lloyd's Register will cooperate on FDC-related rules and regulations.
Samsung Heavy Industries also signed an MOU with Lloyd's Register Advisory, a consulting affiliate of Lloyd's Register, to lay the groundwork for entering the global FDC market. The two companies agreed to join forces on economic feasibility assessments, including data center infrastructure analysis and marketability evaluations in North America.
On the 1st, Samsung Heavy Industries signed a joint development partnership (JDP) with U.S. AI server specialist Supermicro at Innovate APAC 2026, an information and communications expo held in Taipei, Taiwan. Samsung Heavy Industries plans to develop offshore positioning control as well as salinity and humidity insulation technologies, while Supermicro will validate operating conditions for AI servers deployed on rivers and seas.
Demand in the global data center market is growing rapidly. According to global credit rating agency Moody's, up to $3 trillion (approximately 4,400 trillion won) is estimated to be invested in AI data center infrastructure by 2030.
FDCs, which are installed on rivers or seas rather than on land, are seen as a solution that can address challenges facing data centers, including power supply, site acquisition, and server cooling. Samsung Heavy Industries is accordingly assembling a global lineup to identify investors, conduct market analysis, verify economic feasibility, and secure core technologies for FDC projects.
"Offshore data centers are a market of opportunity opening up for the shipbuilding and shipping industries," Samsung Heavy Industries Vice Chairman Choi Sung-an said. "Through global cooperation, we will enter the FDC market preemptively and establish an unrivaled position."
