Forte Linked to Possible Transport of SpaceX Ship 40 from Christmas Island
AIS-based reports circulating online have linked semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Forte with the possible onward movement of SpaceX spacecraft Ship 40 from Christmas Island. No assignment involving the vessel has been confirmed by SpaceX or Boskalis.
The reports state that Forte has an AIS destination of Christmas Island and an estimated arrival date of 23 August 2026. However, the destination and ETA could not be independently confirmed through the publicly accessible vessel-tracking information reviewed for this article. The possible connection between Forte and the spacecraft therefore remains unconfirmed.
Ship 40, the Starship upper stage used on Flight 13, was guided to waters off Christmas Island on 18 August after spending about 24 days at sea following its 24 July flight from Starbase, Texas. Space.com reported that engineers were expected to inspect the spacecraft in calmer waters before an attempted return to Starbase. The Guardian also reported that SpaceX engineers were working on its recovery and examination before returning the vehicle to Starbase.
The approximately 52 m spacecraft remained in one structure after its Indian Ocean splashdown. Recovery work was delayed by rough sea conditions before the vehicle was brought to the waters off the Australian territory. Recent reports and images show the spacecraft remaining afloat during the recovery operation.
Forte is a semi-submersible DP-2 heavy transport vessel. According to an official equipment sheet from Boskalis, the vessel has an overall length of 216.75 m, a maximum breadth of 43.00 m and deck space measuring 177.60 m by 43.00 m. Its deadweight is listed at 50,000 t.
The vessel has a summer draft of 9.68 m and a submerged draft of 26.00 m. Boskalis lists a trial speed of 14 kn and total installed power of 16,470 kW. The vessel was built by Guangzhou Shipyard International in 2012 and converted in 2020. It sails under the Maltese flag, is registered in Valletta and carries IMO number 9592848.
The Boskalis equipment sheet also identifies ballast and de-ballast systems as part of the vessel’s equipment. Semi-submersible heavy transport vessels use controlled ballasting to lower their transport deck below the waterline for float-on and float-off cargo operations. No information has been released on a loading method for Ship 40, or on whether Forte would be used in such an operation.
SpaceX has previously moved one of its marine assets aboard a semi-submersible heavy transport vessel. In 2021, autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You was carried from the Bahamas to California aboard Mighty Servant 1.
Contemporary reporting showed that Mighty Servant 1 partially submerged to load Of Course I Still Love You before carrying the drone ship through the Panama Canal. The combined transport later arrived at the Port of Long Beach in July 2021.
That operation provides a previous example of SpaceX using semi-submersible marine transport, but no evidence currently confirms that the same type of arrangement has been selected for Ship 40.
For the current recovery, the confirmed information is that Ship 40 has reached waters off Christmas Island and that a return to Starbase has been reported as the next stage after inspection. Forte‘s reported AIS destination has prompted attention around the vessel, but its participation in the operation remains unconfirmed.
