THE WORLD Apartment life for sale at sea

The World is the first ever ocean-going residential resort. The 43,524g ship, the brainchild of billionaire Norwegian shipowner Knut Kloster jr, looks for all the world like a regular mid-sized cruise ship. It is in fact a floating apartment block with 110 fully self-contained units and 88 guest suites. It cruises around the globe in pursuit of fair weather, high profile international events and natural attractions.

The ship?s design concept, with, for example, 110 private ?galleys?, required a special technical approach to meet Solas edicts. In light of the ship?s residential function the project also set exacting requirements for noise and vibration levels and The World has undergone Comfort class certification by DNV. Environmental aspects were also important.

It is estimated that the average occupancy will be 390 residents and guests plus a full-time crew of 320. Delivered by the Norwegian yard of Fosen Mek Verksteder A/S after a building period of 27 months, the ship was handed over to its owner, ResidenSea Ltd, in March last year.

The ship?s Captain Dag Saevik says: “In her eight months at sea, The World has performed exceedingly well in varying conditions and environments.”

ResidenSea reports that about 35 residences remain unsold. Once these are sold, plans will be put in place to build a sister ship. The World featured in the April 2002 edition of The Motor Ship.