What does a billionaire do after buying too many ships? He buys the shipyard. Valve billionaire Gabe Newell did just that with Oceanco, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt may be preparing to follow the same course. According to Spanish media reports, Schmidt is interested in acquiring Metalships & Docks in Vigo. The potential acquisition reveals another similarity between the two billionaires, their passion for and long-standing involvement in marine research. Through the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the tech tycoon, worth an estimated $37 billion, supports oceanographic research and exploration. While the deal remains at an early stage, it appears to be a natural step for the 71-year-old, whose family has made environmental sustainability a priority.
The Vigo-based shipyard is not entirely unfamiliar territory for Schmidt. His institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) was originally built at neighboring Freire Shipyard in Vigo and later returned there for its extensive conversion into an oceanographic vessel.
The proposed acquisition is being pursued through Oyster Ocean LLC, a Delaware-registered company incorporated in January 2026. The project reportedly aims to transform Metalships into a specialist shipyard for oceanographic vessels and explorer yachts. This aligns perfectly with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which Schmidt founded in 2009 with his wife, Wendy, herself a passionate sailor and co-owner of the sailing yacht Elfje
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Their private nonprofit organization gives scientists access to a research vessel, laboratories, computing facilities, and technical support without charging them for ship time. According to Superyachttimes, Grupo Rodman, the Spanish shipbuilding group that owns Metalships & Docks, reportedly requested authorization from the Port Authority of Vigo to transfer its shares in the shipyard. The authority has since approved the transfer of the port concessions, clearing an important procedural hurdle, although the ownership change has not yet been finalized. No purchase price has been disclosed. A failed 2009 proposal from a Miami-based investment group reportedly valued the shipyard at €60 million; but nearly two decades later one cannot presume as Metalships returned to a very small net profit in 2025, while its underlying operating business remained fragile. Nevertheless, the acquisition could still make perfect sense for Schmidt.
What Metalships brings to Schmidt’s ocean ambitions-
With Metalships & Docks, Schmidt would not be purchasing a glamorous superyacht builder like Newell’s Oceanco. Instead, he would be acquiring a concession-backed industrial site reportedly comprising five port concessions and approximately 33,000 square meters of valuable waterfront space. Its centerpiece is a 162-meter floating dock, supported by approximately 150 meters of pontoon length, 700 meters of berthing, and capacity for vessels of up to roughly 25,000 deadweight tons.
Despite the plus, the difference in scale between the buyer and the business is striking. Metalships generated just over $10 million in revenue during 2025. That is equivalent to only around 0.03 percent of Schmidt’s estimated $37 billion fortune. Schmidt’s $159 million superyacht Whisper commands sums to the tune of $15-$20 million in annual maintenance. Metalships is hardly a financial trophy by billionaire standards. Its value lies in its floating dock, skilled workforce, waterfront concessions, engineering knowledge, and access to Vigo’s extensive marine supply chain. For Schmidt, however, the acquisition would not be solely about business. The Schmidt Ocean Institute provides ship time, laboratories, computing capacity, and technical support to researchers at no cost. That model requires dependable access to expensive marine infrastructure, making Metalships a potentially sound and highly strategic acquisition. Speaking about ocean science in 2023, Schmidt declared, “The ocean has always needed a moonshot.” Perhaps Metalships could be that chance.
