How do you build a seastead that is comfortable and safe in all sea conditions, yet is economical to build? This is
one of the biggest questions The Seasteading Institute’s engineering program seeks to answer.
Based on our research, we believe that many seasteading needs can be met with off-the-shelf technology. For example, we are not currently trying to innovate in areas such as water distillation or sanitation
services, since solutions have already been widely implemented in the shipping and cruise industries.
Our primary focus is on basic structure design
Seasteads should be:
Safe
able to survive a heavy storm
Economical
affordable to people with average incomes for developed nations
Comfortable
able to comfortably house an average family under most sea conditions
Modular
easily expandable as the population grows, allowing sections to join, separate and reconnect at will
To satisfy these four criteria, we are combining engineering principles that have been proven in other industries with the unique demands of seasteading. For example, our proof-of-concept “Clubstead” design draws upon well-established technologies from cruise ships, oil platforms and bridges.
Key Research
Parametric Analysis of Candidate Configurations for Early Seastead Platforms: Parts 1 & 2
(George L. Petrie, Director of Engineering, The Seasteading Institute, retired Professor of Naval Architecture) – This engineering analysis systematically evaluates several different seastead configurations (in a range of sizes) and to quantify their cost, capacity and performance, with emphasis on early seastead communities (as opposed to large future cities at sea).
Seasteading Location Study: Ship-Based and Large-Scale City Scenarios
(Shanee Stopnitzky, James Hogan, George Petrie, Elie Amar, Dario Mutabdzija, Max Marty and Rafa Gutierrez) – To determine the most promising locations for seastead communities, The Seasteading Institute has evaluated the entire ocean, based on a comprehensive set of criteria related to environmental, economic, legal and political considerations. Data sets for each criterion are presented in the form of color-coded heat maps depicting the desirability of possible locations for two different seastead scenarios: a small, ship-based seastead, and a large “Metropolistead,” or full-fledged city on the ocean. High resolution maps of the individual criteria, as well as aggregated maps, can be viewed here.
Seastead Engineering Report: Criteria
(Eelco Hoogendoorn) – This report lays out our criteria for judging new seastead designs.
Seasteading Engineering Report: Floating Breakwater and Wave Power Generators
(Elie Amar and Jorge Suarez) – A breakwater is typically a pile of heavy materials that form an artificial barrier against the waves. Given the force of the waves hitting such a large structure, it makes sense to explore designs for breakwater that generate energy from the waves being blocked. This report is a survey of the breakwater and wave energy technologies currently developed or patented. A slide presentation of the report is available here (m4v video).
Establishing Offshore Autonomous Communities: Current Choices and Their Proposed Evolution
(Miguel Lamas Pardo) – This dissertation was presented as a requirement to obtain a Doctoral Degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering. The objective is to provide an orderly framework around the idea of ocean colonization, defined as “the establishment of autonomous communities in the oceans aboard artificial platforms.” Additionally, it distinguishes four forms of ocean colonization for distinct purposes: 1) to expand landholdings; 2) to provide mobile settlements; 3) to allow for semi-permanent mobile settlements in order to access marine resources; 4) and for the creation of micronations. It is this fourth concept that will serve as a departing point to review the whole idea of oceanic colonization.
Seastead Location Study: Criteria
(Miguel Lamas Pardo, Luis Manuel Carral Cuece) – This paper considers the structures currently used in the
maritime and ocean industries to accommodate people in semi-permanent accommodation at sea: floating hotels,
or “flotels.”
Offshore and Coastal Floating Hotels: Flotels
(Miguel Lamas Pardo, Luis Manuel Carral Cuece) – This report lays out our criteria for judging potential seastead locations.
Feasibility and Design of the Clubstead: A Cable-Stayed Floating Structure for Offshore Dwellings
(Alexia Aubault, Wendy Sitler-Roddier, Dominique Roddier, Patri Friedman, Wayne Gramlich) – An overview of a plan for a 200-guest hotel/resort, built to withstand the waves 200 nautical miles off the coast of Los Angeles.
Presentation PDF – Proceedings of the ASME 2010 29th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, OMAE2010, June 6-11, 2010, Shanghai, China.
Download all ClubStead reports in a zip file.
ClubStead Design Page – This detailed page contains of the papers and results from the ClubStead study.
2012 Projects
Design multi-year plan to investigate long-term engineering solutions for seasteads
Continue investigations into long-term challenges for city-sized seasteads such as floating breakwaters and wave energy sources
Investigate station-keeping options such as mooring, dynamic positioning and related technologies
Evaluate costs of construction and maintenance of various seastead platform options
Investigate costs of outfitting ships, barges, and platforms with renewable energies such as wind, solar and OTEC
Investigate costs to create modular designs for ships, barges and platforms, such that a container could be built to fit the needs of a resident or business on land and then transported to, and placed on a vessel
- Team with Academic institutions and professionals to expand research.
Research Library
State of the Art of Oceanic Industry for the Establishment of Autonomous Ocean Communities (Miguel Lamas Pardo, Luis Manuel Carral Cuece, Patri Friedman), 49th Congress of Naval Architecture and Maritime
Industry “Oceanic Industry, Sustainability,Technology and Innovation”, Bilbao (Spain), October 21 and 22, 2010.
This paper surveys the economic, legal, and engineering challenges for a variety of proposed seastead
architectures. Includes discussion of flotels, VLFS (Very Large Floating Structures), and residential cruise
ships, as well as previous attempts to build ocean communities.
Costs of Floating Breakwaters [coming soon!] (Miguel Lamas Pardo) – Blog post about the costs of establishing a
floating breakwater in the ocean.
Seasteading and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Classification Societies
(Miguel Lamas Pardo) – This paper provides an overview of the international maritime regulations that govern the
seaworthiness of vessels.
Recruiting
We are also recruiting for our new Engineering Board of Advisors. Board members will provide advice, contacts, and expertise to our engineering team. Ideal candidates will have domain expertise in fields such as marine engineering, cruise ship construction, and oceanography. If you, or someone you know, would be a qualified,
enthusiastic candidate, please let us know.
We also welcome engineers from academia or industry who would like to collaborate with us, as well as students
who would like to work on a seasteading research project as part of their thesis. We’d love to provide guidance
and pointers to the latest research.
©2012 The Seasteading Institute