Freedom Ship
Encyclopedia
Freedom Ship was a floating city
project initially proposed in the late 1990s. It was so named because of the "free" international lifestyle facilitated by a mobile ocean colony, though the project would not have been a conventional ship, but rather a series of linked barge
s.
The Freedom Ship project envisioned a 1,317m (0.818 miles)-long integrated city with condominium
housing for 50,000 people, an airstrip to accommodate turboprop aircraft, duty-free shop
ping and other facilities, large enough to require rapid transit
. The complex would circumnavigate
the globe continuously, stopping regularly at ports of call
.
-building technique, giving the hull flexibility and allowing incremental expansion. The ship would have been 1371 m (4,498 ft) long and had 33,000 accommodation units: 18,000 living units, 3,000 commercial units, 2,400 time-share units and 10,000 hotel units.
's Weekend Edition
and Discovery Channel
's Extreme Engineering
, the project has seen few recent developments. Although the initially stated in-service date was to be 2001, no construction had begun as of November 2011.
Freedom Ship International initially estimated the net cost for construction to be USD 6 billion in 1999. However, by 2002, estimates had risen to USD 11 billion. The latest update to the corporation's website, in July 2008, was a press release explaining the difficulty of obtaining reliable financial backing, and Freedom Ship International has not released the names of any major sponsors.
concept from 1964, by British architect Ron Herron
of the group Archigram
.
Seasteading
, a concept applying homesteading
to the ocean, is a related process.
Ocean colonization
Ocean colonization is the theory and practice of permanent human settlement of oceans. Such settlements may float on the surface of the water, or be secured to the ocean floor, or exist in an intermediate position....
project initially proposed in the late 1990s. It was so named because of the "free" international lifestyle facilitated by a mobile ocean colony, though the project would not have been a conventional ship, but rather a series of linked barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s.
The Freedom Ship project envisioned a 1,317m (0.818 miles)-long integrated city with condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
housing for 50,000 people, an airstrip to accommodate turboprop aircraft, duty-free shop
Duty-free shop
Duty-free shops are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country...
ping and other facilities, large enough to require rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
. The complex would circumnavigate
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
the globe continuously, stopping regularly at ports of call
Port of Call
-Synopsis:Berit, a young woman living in a working-class port town begins a relationship with Gösta, a sailor newly returned from overseas and intent upon staying on land...
.
Technology
The project proposed it as the longest and largest floating ship ever seen, with an airport for aircraft take-off and landing on its flat top. The ship would be presented like a floating city. Due to the stresses of hogging and sagging, conventional shipbuilding would be inadequate for a floating complex 1400 m in length. The developers have stated that they will use a segmented bargeBarge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
-building technique, giving the hull flexibility and allowing incremental expansion. The ship would have been 1371 m (4,498 ft) long and had 33,000 accommodation units: 18,000 living units, 3,000 commercial units, 2,400 time-share units and 10,000 hotel units.
Construction
Despite early press coverage on NPRNPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
and Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's Extreme Engineering
Extreme Engineering
Extreme Engineering is a documentary television series that airs on the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel. The program features futuristic and ongoing engineering projects. As of April 2011, the show is airing its ninth season. Danny Forster first hosted the series in season 4 and has been...
, the project has seen few recent developments. Although the initially stated in-service date was to be 2001, no construction had begun as of November 2011.
Freedom Ship International initially estimated the net cost for construction to be USD 6 billion in 1999. However, by 2002, estimates had risen to USD 11 billion. The latest update to the corporation's website, in July 2008, was a press release explaining the difficulty of obtaining reliable financial backing, and Freedom Ship International has not released the names of any major sponsors.
Similar projects
Other projects, such as the ResidenSea, have similarly attempted to create mobile communities, though they have conservatively limited themselves to the constraints of conventional shipbuilding. In regards to the economic flexibility and "freedom" created by such mobile settlements, these projects could be considered a realization of the avante-garde Walking CityWalking city
The Walking City was an idea proposed by British architect Ron Herron in 1964. In an article in avant-garde architecture journal Archigram, Ron Herron proposed building massive mobile robotic structures, with their own intelligence, that could freely roam the world, moving to wherever their...
concept from 1964, by British architect Ron Herron
Ron Herron
Ron Heron was a notable English architect and teacher. He was perhaps best known for his work with the seminal English experimental architecture collective Archigram, which was formed in London in the early 1960s...
of the group Archigram
Archigram
Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s - based at the Architectural Association, London - that was futurist, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical projects...
.
Seasteading
Seasteading
Seasteading is the concept of creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outside the territories claimed by the governments of any standing nation....
, a concept applying homesteading
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
to the ocean, is a related process.
External links
- Collected Critical Comments on the Freedom Ship project by Patri FriedmanPatri FriedmanPatri Friedman is an American activist and theorist of political economy.- Background :Friedman grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Upper Merion Area High School, class of 1994, where he went by the name Patri Forwalter-Friedman. He graduated from Harvey Mudd College in...
of the Seasteading Institute - "Floating Utopias", a critical look at the project and associated utopian schemes by China MiévilleChina MiévilleChina Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
for In These Times - Floating Cities, Islands and States A paper written by Alexander Bolonkin from a physics perspective using Freedom Ship as an example and providing technical information