Mr ‘Phuket Seasted’ is back with his Crypto Cruise Ship

From the man who was chased away from the Phuket offshore ‘Seasted’ by the Royal Thai Navy, along with his Thai girlfriend, the very same Chad Elwartowski is now launching a Crypto Cruise Ship. The company he was representing at the time, Ocean Builders, is again behind the new venture.

Just to recap from April last year…

“A couple has successfully set up a ‘Seastead’ near Phuket. Seasteading is aiming to build floating societies with “significant political autonomy”. Nearly half the world’s surface is unclaimed by any nation-state, and many coastal nations can legislate “seasteads” in their territorial waters (like a “homestead” but wetter).

Website ‘Bitcoin.com’ and ‘Ocean.builders’ report that the couple Chad Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend Nadia Summergirl are are the first seasteaders who established a small seastead 12 nautical miles off Phuket. Most of the construction of the Seasteading was built on the island of Phuket. The installation in the sea started on January 9.

Mr Elwartowski reveals that the reason that they have chosen to settle near Phuket as the construction price is cheap. The sea is suitable for the establishment as waves are not too high and can attract many tourists.”

Cut to the chase… the Thai Government weren’t too chuffed about the establishment of a floating home, anchored in position, just off the coast of Phuket, along with Ocean Builders’ claims of ‘sovereignty’, etc, etc. The basically told the couple to take their ‘seastead’ and leave the country. You can read more about the fiasco HERE. The Navy later towed the large aluminium can back to shore and sold it for scrap.

“American Chad Elwartowski and his Thai partner, Nadia Supranee Thepdet, say they are on the run from police in Thailand after the government has accused the couple of trying to lay claim to Thai maritime territory with their ‘seastead’, a maritime house considered to be a permanent dwelling at sea off Phuket.”

At the time Ocean Builders said Mr Elwartowski and his girlfriend were simply volunteers who would live in the seasted as part of the experiment. Now it emerges that Chad Elwartowski is indeed the Chief Operations Officer of Ocean Builders.

A media release from Ocean Builders at the time… “Chad and Nadia were volunteers excited about the prospect of living free. They took pictures and videos of the whole process and posted it on social media. They spent a few weeks on the seastead and documented their adventure.

They were in no way involved in the design, construction, decision on where it was located or any funding for the construction of the seastead.
The team surrounding the project were early adopters of bitcoin, and with wealth acquired that way it has spent around US$150,000 on the project.”

Now Chad is back, along with his crypto investors. They’ve licked their wounds from all the undue media attention 18 months ago in Thailand and are launching their latest sea-going project the The Crypto Cruise Ship… “a residential gathering place for entrepreneurs, researchers, and expats, will be launching in January 2021. Cabins go up for auction November 5th.”

“Out of adversity comes opportunity, so they say, and a group of marine engineering entrepreneurs is taking advantage of the current downturn in the cruising industry to expand their operations in Panama.”

“The Crypto Cruise Ship is being prepared to set sail from the Mediterranean and anchor in the Gulf of Panama. The 804 ft ship (245 metres), recently purchased from a major cruise line, is to be named MS Satoshi. It includes 777 cabins with a capacity of 2020 people plus crew and crew quarters. Facilities include multiple restaurants, a theatre, casino, gym and wellness areas. The ship will be used for residency, tourism, research, and office space. It will also provide an incubator environment for entrepreneurs.”

“Cabins will be sold in an upcoming auction to those interested in owning a permanent residence on the ship. Vacation rentals will also be available.”

“The cabins will be sold by Ocean Builders, the company currently building floating homes on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Ship operations will be run by a spinoff company, Viva Vivas.”

“The ship will be anchored a 30-minute ferry ride away from Panama City in the Gulf of Panama. While Ocean Builders recently began construction of its floating, off-grid SeaPod homes on the Caribbean side of Panama, they plan on housing employees on the ship as they begin building on the Pacific side as well. Their goal is to create a floating community for the advancement of ocean technology, engineering, sustainable living, and experimentation.”

So far the venture is off to a rocky start with our quick check of their website coming up with this…

“The MS Satoshi will become an incubator for innovation and entrepreneurship. It will be a gathering place for digital nomads, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, expats, researchers, and sustainability entrepreneurs.”

As key investor Chad Elwartowski, COO of Ocean Builders, says, “We look forward to creating a hub for technology and innovation here in Panama. Our goal is to figure out how to live sustainably on the sea and chart new waters in this new frontier.”

“200 cabins will be available in the first round of the auction, which begins November 5th and ends November 28th. Cabins are tentatively priced between $25,000-$50,000. The ship will be ready for residents to move in by early 2021.”

Best wishes to the Good Ship MS Satoshi. May the waves be left behind and fair winds carry the passengers to new and exciting adventures.