The Seasteading Institute

Research Topics

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Platform Design, Mooring, Dynamic Positioning and Transportation

• What hull materials and methods of fabrication are best-suited for large ocean platforms?
• What designs and materials are ideal for creating lightweight deckhouses and cabins aboard a seastead platform?
• What firms are already in the business of mooring ships?
• How do mooring costs and requirements change depending on ship size, water depth and seabed conditions?
• At what water depth does dynamic positioning become more cost-effective than mooring? How does this “break-even” depth vary by ship size, weight, current speed, etc.?
• How can passengers be safely and cost-effectively transported from a ferry onto a larger ship in rough waters?
• How will seasteads manage their supply chains?
  

Law and Politics

• How will seasteads minimize non-environmental threats like terrorism?
• What international treaties and passages from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) will impact seasteads?
• What actions can seasteads take to foster trust in the international community?
• How can seasteads receive aid/safe shelter in the event of an emergency or a once-in-a-hundred-years storm?

Data Transmission

• What are the costs of various data transmission alternatives such as submarine cables, point-to-point optical laser (i.e., AOptix laser-point), WiMAX buoy relay system, tethered blimp on shore, etc., at various distances from shore?
• How reliable are these alternatives, and what are their bandwidth capabilities?
• How can you stabilize the line-of-sight of an optical laser on a moving ship?
• What existing infrastructure would favor certain locations over others?
• How well do optical laser and tethered blimp systems function in foggy environments?

Alternative Energy/Environment

• What are the best available technologies and companies producing alternative energy?
• Which technologies are best suited for the limited space aboard a ship?
• How can energy be stored aboard seasteads?
  
• What are the costs of using standard energy sources versus clean energy sources?
• How do daily energy costs vary under different assumptions?
• What alternative energy technologies utilize features of the ocean (i.e., wind, waves, currents)?
• Would solar panels covering the roof of a barge produce enough energy to power it, given the ship’s likely energy demands? How much surface area would be required? How would the amount change in different parts of the ocean?
• How can waste be recycled or otherwise disposed of?
  

Oceanography

• How can high-frequency oceanographic data for potential ship locations be reliably determined?
• What kinds of oceanographic research requiring a “base station” could be conducted on the shipstead (i.e., whale research)?
• What technologies (i.e., buoys equipped with sensors) can help vessels and platforms detect tail-end environmental events such as rogue waves?

Wave Motion/Seasickness

• What are the best ways to mitigate it?
• How do moored cruise ships deal with it?
• What ship/barge structures produce the most and least seasickness?
• Are there low-cost medical remedies or other techniques for avoiding it?
• What are the long-term effects (psychological, physiological) of seasickness?

Flag Registry

• What are the pros and cons of the flags of various countries from the point of view of:
  

  • Public relations
  • International reputation
  • Quality of legal institutions
  • Cost of registry
  • De Jure legality
  • De Facto legality

• Case study of a countries’ past handling of legal issues arising on ships flying their flag
• Are certain flag registries better for certain business models?