According to Splash247, the artificial-intelligence boom is opening a huge new market for marine equipment manufacturers — and potentially creating another supply headache for shipowners. Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has just signed its largest-ever power-generation engine contract, signalling a race between shipowners and tech giants for the same engine production lines.
Record order for US AI data centres
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a KRW956bn ($676m) agreement with US energy infrastructure developer Corban Energy Group to supply 1,000 MW of generating capacity for American AI data centres, Splash247 reported. The equipment will be based around HD Hyundai's 9.6 MW HiMSEN medium-speed engines, technology developed primarily for ship propulsion and onboard power generation.
The order is HD Hyundai's largest-ever for power-generation engines and follows a KRW627.1bn US data-centre engine contract secured in April. That means HD Hyundai has booked around KRW1.6trn of American data-centre power equipment in just four months, according to the report.
Why medium-speed engines are the alternative
Data-centre developers have been searching for alternatives to conventional gas turbines, where lengthy lead times have emerged as a major constraint. Medium-speed engines can be deployed comparatively quickly and grouped together to provide hundreds of megawatts of dependable power, Splash247 explained. That makes them an attractive bridging technology while gas turbine deliveries remain stretched.
Korea's big three chase floating data centres
Korea's yards increasingly see AI as a much broader opportunity than selling engines ashore. Samsung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai are both pursuing floating data centres, where servers are housed on offshore platforms or vessels, reducing dependence on expensive land while allowing seawater to contribute to cooling.
Samsung Heavy has secured approval in principle for floating data-centre concepts from classification societies and is working with AI server specialist Supermicro and ABB. It has also signed a design and production agreement with US data-centre developer Mousterian, Splash247 reported.
HD Hyundai has established its own dedicated organisation and teamed up with Schneider Electric to develop integrated power and cooling infrastructure. Hanwha Ocean is also reviewing opportunities, completing Korea's big-three push into the sector.
The numbers are large: up to $3trn is expected to be invested in AI data-centre infrastructure by 2030, according to Moody's, while future floating facilities could range from 50 MW to 500 MW and eventually link directly to offshore wind farms or floating small modular reactors.
Engine supply squeeze spreads across equipment types
Splash247 reported in June that engine availability was already becoming a constraint at some shipyards, echoing conditions during the 2007 ordering frenzy. The tightest market is for dual-fuel low-speed main engines, but pressure has also emerged for auxiliary diesels, generator sets and turbochargers — equipment where marine demand increasingly overlaps with the requirements of data centres.
Engine makers are responding with capacity expansions:
| Company | Action | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Wärtsilä | Production capacity expansion | Equivalent to 65% of its 2025 capacity |
| Rolls-Royce | US production capacity for mtu Series 4000 generator sets | More than 2x 2024 levels |
| Accelleron | TPX44 turbocharger deliveries | Record 8,000 units, more than 3x the previous year's output |
Adam Kent, managing director of Maritime Strategies International, told Splash247 that engine availability was already affecting yard output, although primarily by pushing deliveries further out rather than preventing orders entirely.
"We've certainly heard that the availability of engines is having an impact on some yards," Kent said.
Burak Cetinok, head of research at Arrow, was more cautious, arguing there was no widespread shortage materially disrupting overall shipbuilding output, although newer and reactivated yards were more exposed because they were effectively "joining the back of the queue". Roar Adland, research chief at SSY, suggested market incentives should eventually unlock additional licensed engine production in China.
What to watch
Splash247's reporting points to several factors that could change the engine-supply picture: the potential unlocking of licensed engine production in China, the scale of AI data-centre investment — Moody's projects up to $3trn by 2030 — and the possibility that floating data centres from 50 MW to 500 MW will link directly to offshore wind or floating small modular reactors. For shipowners, the race for engines is not likely to ease while data-centre demand keeps pulling capacity ashore.
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