“Freedom” from oppression, taxes, and liabilities – you name it – is in sight or at least on the drawing board.
So we are told by the people behind the “Freedom Ship,” proposed by a Florida-based company. Their idea is to build a really large floating city with 40,000 inhabitants, to be cruising the world or moored near large cities in international waters. An artist’s drawing of the envisaged 25 stories high and 1 mile (1,600 m) long contraption, complete with schools, hospitals and a whole airport on top is shown below.
Large aircraft carriers like the USS Nimitz with a length of “only” 330 m would definitely look puny in comparison.
The Cost
If you have to ask you probably cannot afford it. The Freedom Ship is estimated to cost 10 billion dollars to build. I don’t think that this number would be anywhere near the total final cost if it ever gets built and fully occupied. Better expect your floating condo to set you back a million at least. Then there would be substantial cruising and maintenance costs. Of course, any excursions to the cities on the itinerary would be extra as well.
The Technology
Yes, there are many large ships on the oceans. Apart from aircraft carriers there are quite a few freighters which can hold phenomenal amounts of oil, liquefied natural gas, up to 40,000 standard size shipping containers, and of course the large cruise ships with a few thousand tourists aboard. But they would all be dwarfed in size by the Freedom Ship. Therefore, a whole slew of entirely new technological problems should be expected both in the construction and operational arenas.
The Cruise
It might be fun – for a while – to cruise the oceans from one side of the globe to the other. But really, would that be all you would want to do? Even with a great cuisine and many amenities on board, I would probably feel bored in due course. In think most landlubbers would find be too.
Nature’s Approval
The greatest difficulty I see in getting this ship to actually float and cruise around the world is in getting Mother Nature’s approval. She doesn’t always come through as expected. Many seafarers have found so over centuries past. For example, the possible windage such a ship could be exposed to exceeds my imagination. The next hurricane or typhoon may give you a whole new life experience.
You may better off trying to stowaway for a while on the Nimitz.
