Suppose I was to purchase one of these container ships. Then suppose I was to anchor it off shore somewhere warm. Then I built a house on there, making boat trips to shore for supplies. Would I have to pay any taxes on my houseboat?
Could bring in loads of dirt, start a garden, more dirt, plant some trees…
I’ll maybe let a couple chill people also come aboard, to build houses of their own… maybe.
People have tried that, and failed for various reasons:
You can’t move the ship out of any port without insurance
Insurance for a rusting hulk isn’t cheap
No nation on earth will let you park your uninsured rusting hulk offshore, as it will pose an environmental and navigational threat to the area
Even if you anchored outside a country’s 12 nautical mile economic exclusion zone doesn’t mean their navy/coast guard won’t bother you. They have maritime rights outside that area nonetheless.
You’d still need to take the ship in for maintenance somewhere, and now all your regulatory problems begin again.
The maintenance on the steel hull would require a return to territorial waters, at which point you’ll need registration (read: taxes). The tender you use to resupply would also require registration and often insurance to enter into marinas.
You have to remain underway so if you can afford the fuel and maintenance, you can pretty much do whatever you want as long as you can defend yourself from hijackers.
If you try to anchor anywhere, you are going to be harassed or attacked by local militaries even if you’re in international waters.
Suppose I was to purchase one of these container ships. Then suppose I was to anchor it off shore somewhere warm. Then I built a house on there, making boat trips to shore for supplies. Would I have to pay any taxes on my houseboat?
Could bring in loads of dirt, start a garden, more dirt, plant some trees…
I’ll maybe let a couple chill people also come aboard, to build houses of their own… maybe.
I think it’s one of those things where you could do it, but if you had the required money, you’d do something far easier and more luxurious.
but dude, it’s like a man-made private island. Perfect zombie apocalypse shelter, you’d just have to ensure they couldn’t crawl up the anchor line
Even a big boat like that won’t last forever. You’d need a lot of maintenance just to keep it afloat long term.
Needs a lot of attention just to keep it anchored!
People have tried that, and failed for various reasons:
This is basically the plot of Waterworld
The maintenance on the steel hull would require a return to territorial waters, at which point you’ll need registration (read: taxes). The tender you use to resupply would also require registration and often insurance to enter into marinas.
dang. I just want a cheap private island
deleted by creator
A boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into.
This is such an underrated comment
You have to remain underway so if you can afford the fuel and maintenance, you can pretty much do whatever you want as long as you can defend yourself from hijackers.
If you try to anchor anywhere, you are going to be harassed or attacked by local militaries even if you’re in international waters.