A room for the night?

http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=29672

+ Spanish connection

http://sunbornbarcelona.com/

That's interesting...

That reminds me .. I seem to remember an article about a luxury ship that circumnavigates the planet continuously. For as little as $1M, you can buy an apartment on this ship, board or leave anytime you wish at any port it happens to be docked at the moment. IIRC they also provide a helicopter service to fly you to/from the nearest airport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_The_World

For all she seems built like a sea-going vessel, is the intention simply to keep her permanently moored in the one spot ?

I presume she has engines and a full control system, so as to be able to sail if needs be ?


On a side note I saw the risk of piracy mentioned in the article.
I don't recall hearing a thing lately about all those problems off the East coast of Africa and the Indian ocean, I wonder if it's safe to assume that the battle against the pirates has near enough been won.

I believe she is capable of sailing under her own power.

One of my concerns is that they have invested very little in the way of infrastructure in Gib ( I bet the hotel staff will also be imported ) and should it not prove a feasible concern here she will just up anchor and sail away leaving very little behind other than the businesses I believe she will destroy.

Others think differently.

Saw her today - she's only a tiddler up to some of them. Residents have been complaining that she'll spoil their view but she's not really that big. Anyway what do they want to look at - the oil refinery?

Anyway we didn't make it into Gib, we turned around and came home. The queue to get in was longer than I've ever seen it before and not moving at all - wonder what that was about?

I wonder why they brought her in on board another vessel then - bit odd?

interesting that although not expected to have to move (only capable of 5knots and has a small fuel tank) she has an ugly red liferaft on each side. Presumably she isn't expcted to move anywhere with anyone but a small crew, but moving isn't the intention of the owners and their banks.

it solves the accommodation problem for visitors to Gibraltar as, with places like Hong Kong, there is little/no spare land to build on.
any advance info on the day rates ??

heavy searching shows she may have been known as Sunborn Barcelona during seatrials off Malaysia - as subterfuge or a change in destination.

She's hardly going to solve the accommodation problem with a mere 189 rooms.

Now if they could float that Costa Concordia again, patch it up and park it in the bay, that would be a totally different kettle of fish.

I can just hear the Spanish hoteliers along the coast screaming blue murder from here.

No sink it nearby for an excellent scuba destination.

wouldn't that make it a "kettle of fish" ??


surprised the Spanish haven't sent out the Armada traffic wardens to slap a sticker on the flotel, or lodged a complaint about misuse of the Gib oooppss sorry Algeciras water ways.

by the way, couldn't find any details on the lifter that brought her into Gib from Malaysia.

`

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shi...MMSI=412036000

http://www.gz-salvage.com.cn/En/newsview.aspx?id=761

http://www.nmamaritime.com/documents...iLongsmall.pdf

seems I took the ships name from one of the photos but it must have been a bit yuck and one letter was wrong - hence didn't exist.

thanks