Plans for what could be the most ambitious and insane maritime project ever conceived have resurfaced, with a proposed mile-long, nuclear-powered behemoth billed as a permanent floating city at sea.
The so-called Freedom Ship, from Freedom Cruise International, would dwarf anything currently sailing the oceans. At nearly eight times the size of Royal Caribbean’s massive Icon of the Seas, the vessel would stretch almost a mile long, rise 30 decks high, and weigh in at over 2 million gross tons.
It’s designed to house 50,000 permanent residents, plus room for 10,000 tourists and a 20,000-member crew, a self-contained metropolis bobbing in international waters with no fixed home port.
Forget your typical cruise with a few pools and buffets. This thing would feature a 15,000-seat stadium, schools, colleges, shops, clubs, a water park, music hall, museums, parks, a massive aquarium, and even a research hospital. A futuristic tram system would whisk residents around the floating utopia.
"The Freedom Ship is envisioned as a permanently mobile city at sea, designed for long-term residence rather than short-term travel," the company says. It would circle the globe every two to three years, staying offshore because it’s simply too massive for any dock on Earth.
Power? Nuclear, of course, to keep the lights on and the party going 24/7.
The concept dates back to the late 1990s, when it was dreamed up by engineer Norman Nixon. It went dormant after his death in 2012, but new leadership under CEO Roger Gooch has revived the vision with fresh designs and renewed hype. Gooch told The Telegraph he’s “very confident” they can pull it off if they can scare up the $10-16 billion in capitalization.
CGI renders circulating online show gleaming white superstructures, lush interior atria with hanging gardens, luxury lounges overlooking endless ocean views, and residents living their best lives in what looks like a vertical Singapore crossed with a cruise ship on steroids.
