It’s the rich man’s ultimate fantasy – to be far removed from all the poor people back on dry land, while you cruise into the sunset on your fully equipped, luxury ship.

If the vision of one Florida-based firm becomes a reality, that’s exactly what will happen. The R100 billion ‘Freedom Ship’ would offer 40,000 residents a permanent ocean-going home complete with hospitals, schools, shops, parks and even a small airport.

At 25 storeys high and a mile long, the 2,7 million-tonne vessel would be so large that it could never enter a port. But then, it wouldn’t really need to.

Instead, it will simply circle the globe once every two years. If residents feel the need for dry land, the ship will anchor itself offshore.

It will spend approximately 70% of its time anchored near a city, and 30 per cent going between countries. The massive ship would leave the east coast of the United States in June and cross the Atlantic to Europe. From then on, it will just keep up with summer, going from one warm climate to the next.

Christmas would be spent just off the north coast of Africa, before the ship drops off a few thousand rich people in Cape Town for January.  But then again, residents can also leave the ship at any time via the mini-airport on top of the ship.

There will also be room for another 30,000 daily visitors and 10,000 overnight guests, as well as 20,000 crew.

According to Roger M Gooch, director and vice-president of Freedom Ship International:

The Freedom Ship will be the largest vessel ever built, and the first ever floating city. 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.

[Source : Telegraph]