offshore someplace like Miami could anyone stop me from offering prostitution, gambling, and drugs to anyone who made there way out to my boat? I could either fly the colors of a libertine nation like Liberia, or fly NO colors, or maybe just go with a Skull and Crossbones for kicks. Let’s say that I also offered powerful servers featuring satellite uplink so I could host a NEW Napster like service, online gambling ect. Would I be violating any laws and if so who could enforce them? An old air craft carrier would be ideal for this sort of operation.
Ships not under the purview of any nation are fair game for piracy and/or being boarded by legitimate navies. So you’ll need weaponry to keep the enemies at bay.
Other than that, you’d need to be completely self-sufficient and realize you’re never, ever going to see land again.
A related issue that I always see mentioned here is Sealand. Search GQ for a couple of hits.
like the island of Nevis, or The Caymen Islands known for their permissive attitudes? Also, if we HAD weapons we could probably claim a remote island somewhere (maybe one of Fiji’s islands) as our HOME base. For that matter are there ANY islands North of 20 degrees South Latitude NOT claimed (or at least to the extent they would be defended) by someone? IF we had such an island we could proclaim ourselves a new Nation. I think we would start by creating a constitution which limited the ENTIRE number of laws to no more than TEN.
Even without such an island you could proclaim yourselves a new Nation. Hell, you can proclaim a new nation now, if you like. The question is whether any of the existing nations would pay a blind bit of attention to your proclamation. The answer, in all probablity, is no.
And your very first court case could be a dispute over whether the constitution was itself such a law, leaving headroom for only nine others!
There was also a guy who tried to create his own nation on some small unclaimed islands around Fiji. Well actually they weren’t quite islands, just coral reefs a few feet below water – that’s why they weren’t claimed. Don’t think he fared too well.
I don’t think it’s possible to have a boat that’s not registered in some nation.
This issue has been discussed many times in the past. The answer is that a vessel on the high seasis subject to the laws of the country of registry. Yes, you can register in another country where prostitution is legal but the USA can also make it pretty difficult or impossible for ferry boats to come and go from the coast. So in the end customers would have to arrive via some other ountry. . . . and there is no advantage to being off the American coast but rather a disadvantage.
thousand pleasure boats that are privately owned where the people could come on their own (I don’t even think that visiting would be illegal). Plus when you factor in basing something like Napster on board that could pay for the operation by itself. Add to that internet gambling run from the ships servers and you could afford to pay a country like Liberia (or fill the small country of your choice) so much they would authorize you to do almost anything. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if more than a few United States Navy vessels didn’t “drop anchor” off your bow for a little R&R. Heck, one strategy might be to shadow carrier groups for the business. Kind of like a modern day general Hooker on the high seas!
It sounds great and a navally inclined friend of mine has thought of much the same idea (get a big freighter, grow dope in the hold and have a go-cart track on the deck… space for all your friends, even the ones you don’t like much). I have a feeling it’s impossible for a variety of practical reasons though. Where do you gas the sumbitch up? How about spare parts? Food? Fresh water? It would just be impossible unless you had the kind of money that would make for a much more comfortable and convenient living on land.
Besides [Tinfoil hat] if it was out in international waters where laws don’t apply, what’s to say that the US Navy wouldn’t use it as a convenient target? You don’t have to put a very big hole in the waterline of a boat to turn it into property of Davey Jones… I’m sure it could be done with discretion. Or a Tomahawk missile, if you’re far enough from shore. [/Tinfoil hat]
God made due with this.
Also what about constructing an offshore platform in international waters. Added benifit, it’s solid and would limit seasickness of visitors.
and make generous donations to both political parties. In addition, you might offer the NSA/CIA the use of certain facilities and the ability to “launder” money through your organization in order to finance certain activities. Finally, all senior military officers (Captain and above) would enjoy free priviledges with your disease free (or at least frequently tested), attractive, women.
So to sum up, all you’d need is:
A spare aircraft carrier that no one has use for…
Some contacts high up in both major US political parties…
Some contacts high up in the CIA/NSA…
A boatload of attractive, disease-free women who love to put out…
A communications system that will let you run an online casino AND Napster…
Spare parts, food, medicine, gas, other consumables…
Money to pay your non-whoring crew…
Money for the internet connection and huge bandwidth…
At least the horny sailors won’t be too hard to find… of course, if you let them into the harem, you’d have to test all of them for diseases too…
Sorry, I love the idea but you’d need more money than God Almighty to pull it off. Should it ever work out for you please let me know though. I know a few people who would happily serve on such a boat.
I believe Canada just lost an island to Denmark because we have such a weak navy we cannot defend or justify our claim to it.
Hah! Go us!
“There is a no crisis, there is no dispute,” stressed Alex Jensen, a Danish navy spokesman."
Spoilsport!
Under Laws of the Sea, things without a ‘national character’ are subject to seizure on the high seas. (So are vessels engaged in slavery and pirate broadcasting, by the way.)
If your party boat is recognized by some country (say Thailand) where prostitution is legal, you may offer such services. As a practical matter, the US would just ask Thailand to lift your license plate and shut you down.
Somebody hasn’t read Leviticus lately …
This guy is trying. The U.N. declined to recognise his claim. He also plans to finance it with gamblers, tax dodgers, and internet ,um, entrepeneurs.
I worry that he may be a con artist. I hope he’s just a harmless crank.
Of course, I really hope that he is for real, and that he succeeds.
They are doomed to failure. Just look at their royalty. Looks like trailer park royalty to me. Not to mention that the odds of them building something in the Caribbean are nil. The first hurricane would destroy it like a trailer park. Tropical trailer park paradise. Buy your property before it is wiped by the next tropical depression.
One minor note:
I believe that most, if not all, cruise ships operating out of U.S. ports–they may be registered elsewhere–have a small onboard casino which is open for business only when outside of U.S. territorial waters.
In spite of the presence of an unregulated casino, these ships are allowed to dock and buy supplies (including decks of cards and so forth) in the U.S. without hindrance. I suppose that it’s a matter of the Feds looking the other way as long as gambling is a minor adjunct rather than the whole purpose of the cruise.
I’ve also heard that some of these unregulated casinos make up their own rules as they go along. Keep your hand on your wallet. 
A cruise ship with a casino violates no US law as long as the games begin after the ship leaves the United States.
In theory, a prostitution and heroin cruise would in the same way be allowed to dock in Florida for supplies and customers. Still as a practical matter, the US would ask the country who registered the ship to get you cut it the heck out.