I can testify, that we do afloat ship repair, with mobile workshops on big barges, in sight of the city skyscrappers, here in the bay of Cartagena, with a extreme high grade of interference freedom (9.5 on the scale). A typical project includes 200 workers and as long as you take good care of the ambient neither the city nor the marine authority is doing anything else than welcome the project and support it due to the jobs it brings in. So the scenario of my “pretty picture” is not unrealistic at all, it is the dayly reality of the Cartagena bay marine business cluster as we speak. The seastead would just be the next logical step taking it beyond (short lifecycle) steel barges and make it permanent on floating concrete honeycomb structures.
Cartagena skyscrapper line foto from the ship repair site in the bay.
In fact we prefer afloat repair for EXACTLY this reason compared to repair in a shipyard the project interference is much much lower what makes the management much easier. It starts with the noise that comes from hammer a steelplate in place – out a mile on the bay nobody cares about the noise…
What matters is the DE FACTO situation. I can not talk what “many contries” will do or not do – i have practical business management experience in Europe and Colombia – not in all countries on the planet. Fact is if you are afloat in the bay of Cartagena – you are “King of your Castle” – DE FACTO and DE JURE that is what counts. Working a ship repair business in the middle of the bay or on a shoreside dock is a “universe of difference” in cost and interference handling – this is why we prefer afloat repair. It is not a “theoretical discussion between academic opinions” it is a business ambient choice that reflects in project cost. Waterbased wins, not only in ancient Venice also in todays Cartagena ship repair, each time we set up a project. This is as real and “hands on” floating lifestyle and business as it gets.
