The vessels are designed for multi-fuel generators that can be prepared to run on hydrogen. The first of them is due to arrive at the shipyard in Singapore in December 2027, Seatrium reported.

The gist in brief

• Seatrium will convert five Whale-class floating power plants for Karpowership.
• The power plants are hydrogen-ready, but operation on hydrogen is not stated in the release, and the fuel composition is not specified.
• The first vessel will arrive at Seatrium Tuas Boulevard Yard in December 2027.
• According to the companies, a station connected to the national grid can begin generating power within 30 days.

What the contract covers

Seatrium will carry out the conversion and integration of five vessels: install equipment, complete mechanical work and conduct preliminary tests. Engineering work is already underway. The contract value has not been disclosed.

What kind of power plants these are

A floating power plant is a vessel with generators that is connected to a country's grid from the water. On board there are substations that connect to national grids, and the generators are multi-fuel. The companies call such vessels a "plug and play" solution: electricity can appear within 30 days. The words "hydrogen-ready" mean that the stations can be prepared to run on it, but the current fuel composition is not named in the release.

How long the companies have been working together

Seatrium and Karpowership have been partners since 2018. In August 2025, they signed a letter of intent that provided for three conversions of floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) and the possible integration of up to six new power plants. Seatrium has already completed seven FSRU projects for Karpowership, with the eighth and ninth projects secured in 2026. Seatrium's Executive Vice President for Repairs and Upgrades Alvin Gan called the new contract an important milestone, the first major conversion and integration of Whale vessels for Karpowership.

What is happening in offshore energy

Electricity is not only generated on water by floating stations. Chinese company China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) launched the Fanshi offshore wind farm approximately 81 km off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong Province. It has 131 turbines, of which 33 have a capacity of 18 MW each. One such turbine generates up to 56 million kWh per year, and once at full design capacity the wind farm will be able to supply more than 6.6 billion kWh per year.

Author's takeaway

The main point of this news is not hydrogen but speed. The word "ready" means that hydrogen remains a possibility for the future, while what is being sold to customers is something else: a station that can be connected to the grid in 30 days, instead of an onshore power plant that takes years to build. Karpowership is ordering five such vessels at once, and the partnership with Seatrium is expanding: the eighth and ninth FSRU projects were secured in 2026. The promises cannot yet be verified: the first vessel will arrive at the shipyard only in December 2027, and the contract price and the countries to which the stations will be sent have not been named.