Freedom Ship: A floating city for 80,000 people is set to sail around the world

One mile long, 30 decks high, 80,000 people on board: the Freedom Ship sounds like science fiction. Yet behind the concept lies a serious, multi-billion project that is currently gaining momentum once again. The company behind the project Freedom Cruise Line International is said to have Schopfer Associates LLC has commissioned an internationally acclaimed architectural practice to act as lead designer. The next step towards the floating city has thus been taken, even though a start date for construction has not yet been set.

A new architectural practice, attracting fresh attention

Freedom Cruise Line International, a Florida-based company, has commissioned Schopfer Associates LLC, a firm which, according to its own statements, has won international design awards, including an award at the A’ Design Award & Competition. Under the leadership of E. Kevin Schopfer, the firm is to take on overall responsibility for the design, ranging from urban planning and public spaces to the project’s visual identity. Freedom Cruise Line International describes the move as a historic milestone for the project.

A city that never drops anchor

Its dimensions exceed all known standards in shipping. The Freedom Ship is described as a vessel approximately one mile long, around 800 feet wide and 30 decks high. With a gross tonnage of over two million, it would, according to the project specifications, be the largest maritime structure ever built. By comparison, the world’s largest passenger ship currently in service seems small.

The basic idea behind it is just as radical as its dimensions. Freedom Ship is not intended to shuttle between ports or take holidaymakers on round-trip cruises. The ship is conceived as a permanently inhabited mobile community that slowly circles the globe. According to the project description, Freedom Ship is set to call at major ports for a week or longer at a time. Visitors are to come on board by ferry or aeroplane. The concept does not envisage a fixed home port.

The concept presentation in the video

Homes, schools, a stadium and a water park

Anyone living on board should have everything they need within easy reach. The plans include residential and commercial premises for sale or rent, schools ranging from primary to sixth form, restaurants, banks, spas, casinos, duty-free areas, parks and leisure facilities. There are also plans for a dedicated hospital with a medical research centre.

According to the project specifications, the concept for the drive technology relies on a hybrid drive system with energy recovery systems, as well as comprehensive water and waste management. The project managers explicitly cite sustainability as a key objective.

80,000 people, but not 80,000 passengers

The figure of 80,000 people, which is often cited, needs to be put into context. The project description refers to the total number of full-time and part-time guests, i.e. residents, visitors and crew combined. Freedom Ship is therefore not a cruise ship with 80,000 guests on board, but a floating living space intended to be permanently inhabited. Those living on board do so not for the duration of a voyage, but on a permanent basis. This fundamentally distinguishes the concept from any passenger ship built to date.

The location and timetable are yet to be confirmed

The company has not provided a specific timetable for construction or a location for the shipyard. Nor has it given any details regarding funding. Depending on the source, the costs range between 12 and 20 billion dollars.

The project is older than it appears

The concept first emerged in the late 1990s. The engineer Norman Nixon is regarded as the driving force behind this early phase. The first visualisations and cost estimates, which brought the project to international attention, also date from that period. An initial estimate of construction costs of around six billion US dollars was already circulating as early as 1999.

Since then, Freedom Ship has resurfaced from time to time, though construction has never actually begun. The announcement of Schopfer Associates as the new design partner is the latest in a series of such announcements. It has triggered a new wave of international media coverage, but does not yet provide any evidence that the ship is actually going to be built. Furthermore, the project does not yet appear on the designer’s website.

​Would you like to live on the Freedom Ship? Let us know in the comments.