Karpowership Orders Five Whale Class Floating Power Plant Conversions from Seatrium

Karpowership has contracted Seatrium to convert and integrate five Whale Class floating power plants, adding a large-capacity vessel series to its fleet plans. Each vessel is designed to generate up to 600 megawatts (MW), and the first is targeted to arrive at Seatrium’s Tuas Boulevard Shipyard in Singapore in December 2027.

The contract covers equipment integration, mechanical completion and pre-commissioning preparations. Engineering work has begun, the companies said. They did not disclose the contract’s financial value or a delivery schedule for the remaining four vessels.

That work will turn Karpowership’s third-generation Whale Class vessels into operating power plants. The design combines multi-fuel generation systems described as ready for hydrogen use with onboard transformer stations. Those stations are intended to transfer generated electricity directly to a grid, subject to the connection and infrastructure available at the destination.

From conversion work to grid connection

The vessels are being developed for deployment in different countries, where they are intended to add generation capacity in response to electricity needs. Karpowership says its plug-and-play model can begin producing power in as little as 30 days, provided the required connection and infrastructure conditions are in place. That figure is the company’s stated potential start-up time; the source does not specify the steps or timing for any particular deployment.

For operators assessing a floating plant, the onboard generation equipment is only part of the operating picture. The vessel must also be integrated, prepared for commissioning and connected to the receiving grid. Karpowership’s stated 30-day timeline therefore depends on the conditions at the destination, while Seatrium’s contracted work covers the conversion and preparation stages described by the companies.

At up to 600 MW per vessel, Whale Class is Karpowership’s highest-capacity floating power plant class. The five-vessel contract establishes the planned scale of the series, but it does not provide an aggregate delivery timetable or specify when each plant will enter service. The first yard arrival in December 2027 is the only vessel-specific date given.

A wider Seatrium relationship

The new work extends a Karpowership-Seatrium relationship that dates to 2018. Seatrium has completed conversions of seven liquefied natural gas storage and regasification vessels, known as FSRUs, for Karpowership. The companies have also contracted two more FSRU conversion projects for 2026.

The Whale Class contract follows a letter of intent signed in August 2025. That earlier understanding anticipated conversions of three FSRUs and integration of as many as six new-generation floating power plants. Under the latest contract, conversion and integration work for five Whale Class vessels has been finalized.

Seatrium’s role on this project marks its first large-scale conversion and integration assignment for Karpowership’s Whale Class vessels, according to Alvin Gan, the company’s vice president of repair and modernization. Gan said Seatrium would apply its experience with complex ship conversions and offshore engineering to the new floating power plants.

Gökhan Koçak, Karpowership’s chief executive officer responsible for technical operations, described the contract as a further step in the companies’ long-running relationship. He linked the Whale Class design to Karpowership’s aims for operational performance and energy supply security, and pointed to Seatrium’s ship-integration experience as relevant to the fleet investment.

What the contract establishes

The deal sets five vessels into Seatrium’s conversion and integration pipeline, with engineering already underway and the first ship expected at the Singapore yard in December 2027. It also confirms that the vessels are designed for multi-fuel power generation, hydrogen readiness and direct grid transfer through onboard transformer stations.

Further operating details remain open. The companies have not provided the full yard sequence, completion dates for each vessel, deployment locations or the infrastructure arrangements needed at receiving sites. Those details will determine how the five plants move from conversion work to grid-connected generation. For now, the clearest markers are the five-vessel contract, the capacity of up to 600 MW per plant and the first vessel’s targeted 2027 yard arrival.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye