Bj Campbell Thanks! Yeah, repurposing oil platforms is one option. ...
· Comment — Archer T. Ships replied to Clyde Terrell's comment. · View on Facebook · Markdown source
Bj Campbell Thanks! Yeah, repurposing oil platforms is one option. However, rigs are ugly, dirty, industrial facilities intended for an almost entirely male workforce. It would take millions in retrofit costs to bring them habitation standards most normal people are used to. It's also unclear that the maintenance costs are manageable without the millions in oil revenue that a typical rig generates every year. A clapped out rig would likely have to be moved immediately to international waters, as it would likely be very difficult to get regulatory approval / insurance to operate in US waters. So, you'd have to hit the ground running with a business model that can pay for hundreds of thousands (at least) in anchoring, fueling, resupply, and maintainance costs per year. Perhaps oil companies would be up for experimenting with turning a rig into a resort, and help pay for the regulatory, insurance, and renovation costs. Or maybe they could be repurposed as refugee housing. Refugees wouldn't be picky about aesthetics, and they could be put to work on the endless task of rust mitigation. Coral don't grow on tires: https://www.npr.org/2007/07/05/11462066/fallout-from-bad-70s-idea-auto-tires-in-ocean-reef But perhaps there is an inexpensive material for making drogues. I think the easiest solution is just to move somewhere with water shallow enough that anchoring out isn't too expensive. After Bioshock "jokes", questions about pirates are probably the most common question Joe gets: https://www.seasteading.org/what-about-pirates/ I don't think non-governmental pirates are a big risk. Historically, harassment by governments, not pirates, have been the biggest risks seasteads have faced.