Seatrium Limited has secured conversion work on five Karpowership Whale Class Powerships, advancing a multivessel plan outlined in August 2025 and extending a partnership the companies say began in 2018.
The work comprises equipment integration, mechanical completion and pre-commissioning. Seatrium did not disclose the contract value or identify markets where the five ships will operate.
Seatrium says Whale Class is engineered to deploy as much as 600 megawatts (MW) of grid-ready power. Its announcement does not specify whether that rating applies to each Powership or to all five under the contract.
The power system is designed to use multiple fuels, and Seatrium describes it as hydrogen-ready. Each vessel also carries an onboard substation for connection to a national electricity grid. Karpowership says a ship built around its plug-and-play model could start producing electricity after a minimum of 30 days.
Karpowership announced a letter of intent in August 2025 covering three floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) conversions, alongside possible integration work on up to six new-generation Powerships. In its March 2026 announcement, Seatrium described the Powership portion as four vessels, with an option for two more.
Seatrium says its relationship with Karpowership dates to 2018. It reported completing seven FSRU conversion projects for the company and securing its eighth and ninth such projects in 2026. Alvin Gan, Seatrium's executive vice president for repairs and upgrades, said this is the company's first major conversion and integration work on Karpowership's Whale Class Powerships. Gokhan Kocak, Karpowership's chief technical operations officer, described Seatrium as “an ideal partner.” The companies said the project supports energy security and the development of floating power infrastructure.
Project engineering is underway. Seatrium's schedule targets the first vessel's arrival at Tuas Boulevard Yard in December 2027; the announcement sets out no dates for the other four.
