Susan Bowen for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Who hasn’t longed, at one time or another, to ditch everything and sail around the world? How would you like the trip to last forever? You will be able to if the vision of a venture called Freedom Ship International becomes a reality. It would become the largest ship ever built, and the world’s first floating city.
Here’s how it is described on the promotional web site: “Envision an ideal place to live or run a business, a friendly, safe and secure community with large areas of open space and extensive entertainment and recreational facilities. Finally, picture this community continually moving around the world. You are beginning to understand the Freedom Ship concept of a massive ocean-going vessel.”
The ship would be a mile long and 25 stories high. As these dimensions would never allow it to dock at any port, residents would either fly from the top-deck airport, or use ferry boats to get ashore.
According to its promoters, its amenities would be impressive. It would have art galleries, shops, parks, aquariums, a casino, restaurants, a huge duty-free shopping mall, libraries, banks, ball fields, entertainment facilities and all the other comforts of home. They also boast that the city would have world class medical and educational centers. Landscaping would include ponds, waterfalls and open green space. Parts of the ship would also contain culturally characteristic architecture from around the world.
Commercial space will be available for everything from light industrial, to warehouse space, to retail space and corporate headquarters.
Its design would allow for 40,000 full time residents, 30,000 daily visitors, 10,000 nightly hotel guests, and 20,000 full time crew members. The prices for residential units range from $153,000 for an economy unit with no kitchen, to over $2 million. Commercial units display a similar range of prices.
The ship would circumnavigate the globe every two years, stopping at ports all along the way. It would spend 70 percent of its time off the shore of major cities and the other 30 percent in transit. Residents would have ample time to explore at each stop.
The company that wants to build this floating city only needs $1 billion dollars before they can begin construction, then another $9 billion going forward.
It’s been a hard sell. Roger M. Gooch, director and vice-president of the Florida-based firm, explained to The Daily Mail, “This will be a very heavily capitalised project and the global economy in the last few years hasn’t been too inviting for unproven progressive projects like ours.” He is optimistic, however. He says there has been an upswing of interest in the project during the past six months, and he is confident they can raise the money.
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