Seatrium Wins Contract To Convert Five 600 MW Hydrogen-Ready Powerships

Seatrium, a Singaporean company specialising in marine engineering, has received an order from Karpowership, a Turkish company, to convert and integrate five floating power plants that will be capable of producing up to 600 megawatts (MW) of power.

These vessels are part of the Whale Class of Karpowership and will be equipped with multi-fuel power generation systems that are capable of utilising conventional marine fuel, natural gas, and hydrogen blends.

The vessels will also have onboard substations that will enable the direct connection of their generated power into the national grid system.

The first vessel is expected to arrive at Seatrium’s Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore in December 2027. The work will include equipment integration, mechanical completion and pre-commissioning.

According to Karpowership, its plug-and-play design allows the floating power plants to begin generating electricity in less than 30 days after arrival, provided the necessary infrastructure is in place.

The Whale Class is Karpowership’s largest powership design. Each vessel is designed to deliver between 500 MW and 600 MW, according to the company.

The specifications list three engines, six gas turbines and accommodation for 46 people on each vessel.

The ships are designed to generate electricity offshore and supply it to national grids through coastal connections. Floating power plants can provide electricity without requiring all the infrastructure associated with building a new land-based power station, although their deployment depends on suitable grid connections and other supporting facilities.

Hydrogen-ready systems on board of these vessels are intended to allow blending of hydrogen without any structural changes to the ship. The companies have not specified when the ships will begin using hydrogen blends or how much of their power generation will rely on them.

The contract extends a partnership between the two companies that began in 2018, primarily through the conversion of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs).

So far, Seatrium has delivered seven FSRUs to Karpowership, while two more ships have been contracted.

This follows a letter of intent signed in August 2025, which included three FSRU conversions and the installation of up to six powerships.

The new contract involves five Whale Class ships, making some of the earlier plans become a reality.

Alvin Gan, Seatrium’s Executive Vice President for Repairs and Upgrades, stated that this is the first conversion of Whale Class series by Seatrium. He added that the offshore engineering division of Seatrium will be responsible for integrating the equipment in the ships.

Gokhan Kocak, Chief Technical Operations Officer at Karpowership, said that Seatrium’s past experience in converting complex vessels makes it a good fit for the job.

Reference: Interesting Engineering