F E A T U R E

The concept builds on the company ' s unveiling of Kraaken as a self-powered maritime AI data centre. Instead of directing virtually all available power towards computing, the VITAL configuration reallocates part of the vessel ' s output to essential infrastructure.

At the centre of the proposition is the idea that power, water and compute do not necessarily have to be developed as separate infrastructure projects.

" When we introduced the Kraaken as a data centre platform, we presented a self-powered, zero emission vessel designed to dedicate its full capacity to compute," said Jeff Kline, President, InMar Technologies.

" The VITAL 100 MW configuration takes the same core capabilities and asks a different question: what happens when you point some of that output directly at a coastline that doesn ' t have reliable power or clean water? The answer is a single vessel that can serve the equivalent of a small city – indefinitely, from offshore, with no connection to the existing grid."

One platform, different missions

The Kraaken uses a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull architecture, commonly known as SWATH, combined with Optimal Transit ' s patented Digital Ocean Thermal selfpowering technology.

Its design is intended to create what the company describes as a ' mission-flexible architecture '. A standardised hull, power system and mooring infrastructure can therefore be configured according to the requirements of a particular deployment.

For AI-focused projects, most of the vessel ' s available output can be allocated to computing. Under the VITAL configuration, 40 MW is instead available for electricity exports while approximately 30 million litres of water can be produced daily through vacuum-flash desalination.

Another 60 MW remains available for AI infrastructure, potentially providing coastal cities, governments and enterprises with locally accessible computing capacity alongside essential utilities.

The three services are delivered through a quick-disconnect umbilical connecting the vessel with shore infrastructure. The system also allows Kraaken to disconnect and relocate when necessary. That mobility represents an important distinction from conventional data centre development.

AI infrastructure has become increasingly constrained by grid availability, land requirements and lengthy development processes. A floating platform potentially provides another route to capacity, particularly in regions where terrestrial infrastructure is limited.

Optimal Transit estimates the all-in capital cost of a VITAL 100 MW vessel at approximately US $ 587 million.

The company compares this with building a 40 MW power plant, 7.9-million-gallon-per-day desalination facility and 60 MW AIgrade data centre separately on land, which it estimates could cost between US $ 750 million and US $ 1.33 billion.

Optimal Transit claims the vessel could consequently provide the combined capabilities for approximately 44 % to 78 % of the equivalent land-based capital cost.

Deployment time is another part of the argument. While major terrestrial power, water and data centre projects can encounter grid interconnection delays, environmental approvals and planning processes, the company envisages delivering Kraaken in approximately three years.

Infrastructure beyond the data centre

The concept becomes particularly interesting when considered outside established data centre markets.

In regions where unreliable electricity supplies mean hospitals, ports, industrial facilities and households depend heavily on diesel generators, an offshore platform capable of continuously providing power could potentially function as a utility before its computing capacity is fully occupied.

Optimal Transit estimates diesel self-generation can cost approximately US $ 0.40 to US $ 0.55 per kilowatt-hour in some markets across sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and disaster-affected regions.

Combining utility services with AI infrastructure could therefore alter the economics of deploying computing capacity into emerging or infrastructure-constrained markets.

Instead of a data centre being purely a consumer of local electricity and water, the VITAL proposition effectively reverses the relationship. The infrastructure platform would arrive with its own power generation and water production capabilities while simultaneously providing compute.

Disaster resilience at sea

Optimal Transit is also positioning the VITAL configuration as potential emergency infrastructure for communities affected by natural disasters.

36 www. intelligentdatacentres. com