Thailand's navy raided a floating home belonging to an American and his Thai partner who sought to be 'seasteading' pioneers. The movement promotes living in international waters free of any nation's laws.
This Saturday, April 13, 2019, photo provided by Royal Thai Navy, shows a floating home lived in by an American man and his Thai partner in the Andaman Sea, off Phuket island, Thailand. Thai authorities raided Thursday, April 18, 2019, the floating home lived in by the couple who sought to be pioneers in the seasteading movement, which promotes living in international waters to be free of any nation's laws.
It filed a complaint against them with police on the southern resort island of Phuket. Thai authorities said they have revoked Elwartowski’s visa. The couple, who have gone into hiding, had been living part-time on a small structure they said was anchored outside Thailand’s territorial waters, just over 12 nautical miles from shore. They were not there when the navy carried out their raid on Saturday.
Seasteading has had a revival in recent years as libertarian ideas of living free from state interference — such as by using crypto-currency including Bitcoin — have become more popular, including among influential Silicon Valley figures such as entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Elwartowski, an IT specialist, has been involved in Bitcoin since 2010.
The floating two-story octagonal house at the center of the controversy had been profiled and promoted online by a group called Ocean Builders, which touted it as a pilot project and sought to sell additional units.
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