If I built a MASSIVE offshore platform in international waters off the U.S.....

[Vesayen]

I build a 5 square mile((5^1/2) miles on each side) platform off the coast of the U.S.-200 miles off the coast of oh..... say Florida-descent climate

Forget the fact I would have no way of building it.... assume I have, and have the resources to maintain it.

I want to live there and have anyone there I want-basically, I want my own country small country. It is armed to the tetth to ensure no pirates or random excriment try to screw around with it, what do you think would happen?


Why hasent any big corporation done this to have its own sovreinty and be exempt from all laws?

[Whoha]

The big corporations can go to the many islands we have near the US that are already pretty much the same situation and do the exact same thing.

[Dauphin]

Look up Sealand on Google. A gun platform(?) country off of the coast of Essex/Suffolk, England.

[chequita guevara]

Because no one would recognize their sovreignty. In order to be considered, you would have to be on a piece of rock that is above water at high tide (IIRC, might be low toide). All of these bits of rock are claimed.

There is a former gun platform off the coast of Britain that is inhabited (by a family) and claims to be an independent country, but it's really just a joke.

[Urban Ranger]

Why would they want that when they can go to one of the tax havens?

[chequita guevara]

Look up Sealand here on Apolyton, as we tracked it down on the maps.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why hasent any big corporation done this to have its own sovreinty and be exempt from all laws?

Well one problem is that corporations need other countries to buy its products, and those countries can decide what taxes to charge on imports (maybe a special tariff on the company).

Sealand is an exeption because it relies on people coming to IT. Then again, it started out as a personal country and then they decided they could make some money with database storage.

[Dis]

you ever hear of pirates?

The offshore platforms would not be protected by any country. You would have to maintain your own defense.

Yes I realize we don't have pirates today. But if we had things like these in international waters you can believe we would still have pirates.


The costs of constructing the damn thing, and maintaing defense would be too much. It's cheaper just to move to Bermuda.

[Bosh]

Yes I realize we don't have pirates today.

Yes we do. There's quite a lot of them in the Singapore area actually. They've hijacked a good number of container ships in recent years.

[Urban Ranger]

Malaysia, Boshko, Malaysia.

[Drake Tungsten]

Malaysia is in the Singapore area.

[duke o' york]

Why don't you just vote for a President who'll let you do whatever you want without having to move house?

[Vesayen]

Originally posted by Dissident
you ever hear of pirates?

The offshore platforms would not be protected by any country. You would have to maintain your own defense.

Yes I realize we don't have pirates today. But if we had things like these in international waters you can believe we would still have pirates.


The costs of constructing the damn thing, and maintaing defense would be too much. It's cheaper just to move to Bermuda.

I mentioned this in my original post, we still have pirates.

[PLATO]

Sealand 2000

[Vesayen]

Is that really it?