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Robin Hanson claims capitalists, facing the view that fixed infrastructure in…

2026-05-12 · 14:43 UTC ·@robinhanson ·1 min read

Brief

Robin Hanson highlights Mario Nawfal’s point that private capital responded to fears of asset confiscation in Africa by deploying floating, transferable infrastructure. He cites the MV Karadeniz Powership Osman Khan (299 m, up to 480 MW) anchored off Ghana since 2017; Karpowership turned this model into a global business, though the ship’s share of Ghana’s power fell from ~26% in 2017–19 to about 12% today.

Why it matters

Robin Hanson claims capitalists, facing the view that fixed infrastructure in Africa is vulnerable to confiscation, have built floating, transferable infrastructure to avoid that risk.

Key details

  • The MV Karadeniz Powership Osman Khan (299 m) has been anchored off Ghana since 2017 and can produce up to 480 MW; Karpowership has scaled this floating power-plant model into a global business serving countries with chronic energy deficits.
  • Community-corrected numbers: the ship supplied about 26% of Ghana’s electricity in 2017–2019, but Karpowership now supplies roughly 12% of Ghana’s power after the country added more generation capacity.
Source evidence

They said capitalists can't build infrastructure in Africa as it is fixed, & govts there just confiscate. So capitalists made floating & therefore transferable infrastructure.

Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal)

🇹🇷🇬🇭 A single Turkish ship anchored off Ghana's coast generates over a quarter of the country's electricity.

The MV Karadeniz Powership Osman Khan is 299 meters long and pumps out up to 480 MW of power.

It has been doing this since 2017.

No power plant to build. No years of construction delays.

Karpowership, the Turkish private company behind it, has quietly turned this model into a global business, deploying floating plants to countries with chronic energy deficits across Africa and beyond.

Africa has an infrastructure gap that traditional investment has failed to close for decades.

Turkey found a way to monetize that gap with engineering.

Video

Community note: Karpowership now supplies about 12% of Ghana's electricity, not over a quarter. The 26% figure was real in 2017 to 2019. Ghana has built more power plants since then, shrinking the ship's share.

powermag.com/the-470-mw-flo…
energycom.gov.gh/index.php/plan…
citinewsroom.com/2025/05/karpow…

— https://nitter.net/MarioNawfal/status/2054129956863816175#m