--- description: American Chad Elwartowski and his partner are wanted by the Thai authorities for trying to build a floating community in waters off Phuket. title: Couple in Hiding After Attempt to Establish Community at Sea image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b3e0f4b2d8f1d6f/6989488d7cdbac31b4d5f622/gettyimages-1000079272.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Thailand](/tag/thailand/) ## Thailand Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # An American-Thai Couple Are In Deep Water Over Their Attempt to Establish a Community at Sea by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:52 PM CUTPublished: Apr 18, 2019 8:33 AM CUT  Tropical andaman seascape scenic off mai khao beach and wave crashing on sandy shore in phuket thailand with airplane takes off on sky in summer season Tropical andaman seascape scenic off mai khao beach and wave crashing on sandy shore in phuket thailand with airplane takes off on sky in summer seasonGetty Images by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:52 PM CUTPublished: Apr 18, 2019 8:33 AM CUT The Royal Thai Navy plans to remove a house [built on a platform 12 miles off the coast](https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1662880/navy-to-remove-seasteading-floating-home-off-phuket-coast "undefined") of Phuket according to the _Bangkok_ _Post_. American Chad Elwartowski and his Thai partner Supranee Thepdet, also known as Nadia Summergirl, were reportedly living in the house, built by [Ocean Builders](https://ocean.builders/about/ "undefined"), to promote the concept of “seasteading.” **“**Seasteading is the concept of creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outside the territory claimed by any government,” says the company on its website. In a promotional video posted to [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bceePdFruU "undefined") in March, Elwartowski toasts his partner with champagne on the roof of their ocean dwelling. He says 20 more floating homes are planned so others can join them in a libertarian-style community that they believe will be beyond legal jurisdictions. Governments “have a monopoly on land but they don’t have a monopoly at sea,” Elwartowski says in the video. “We’re looking forward to freedom-loving people to come join us out on the open ocean.” In an [earlier video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c83TiSJ6sfA "undefined"), he says international waters are “where there are no laws other than the law of the sea.” But Thai authorities have a different view. They have filed a compliant, accusing the couple of breaching a section of the country’s criminal code that relates to threatening the sovereignty of a state, and erosion of a state’s independence, according to the _Post_. The charges carry [the death penalty](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/18/us-bitcoin-trader-may-face-death-penalty-in-thailand-over-sea-home "undefined"). “We have already prepared a vessel, equipment and manpower to move the structure. We will try to move it within a week’’ a Thai vice-admiral told the newspaper. Elwartowski says the couple are now in hiding. “This is ridiculous. We lived on a floating house boat for a few weeks and now Thailand wants us killed,” he said on his Facebook page. He told TIME by email that he and his partner “have no claim to the home. It was never ours, we just lived there and promoted it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5572947/seasteading-ocean-builders-thailand-home-elwartowski/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5572947/seasteading-ocean-builders-thailand-home-elwartowski/"},"headline":"An American-Thai Couple Are In Deep Water Over Their Attempt to Establish a Community at Sea","datePublished":"2019-04-18T08:33:03.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T23:52:39.000Z","description":"The American businessman and his partner are in hiding after Thai authorities accused them of breaching the country's sovereignty","url":"https://time.com/5572947/seasteading-ocean-builders-thailand-home-elwartowski/","keywords":["Thailand","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b3e0f4b2d8f1d6f/6989488d7cdbac31b4d5f622/gettyimages-1000079272.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b3e0f4b2d8f1d6f/6989488d7cdbac31b4d5f622/gettyimages-1000079272.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tropical andaman seascape scenic off mai khao beach and wave crashing on sandy shore in phuket thailand with airplane takes off on sky in summer season.","caption":"Tropical andaman seascape scenic off mai khao beach and wave crashing on sandy shore in phuket thailand with airplane takes off on sky in summer season.","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/thailand/","name":"Thailand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5572947/seasteading-ocean-builders-thailand-home-elwartowski/","name":"An American-Thai Couple Are In Deep Water Over Their Attempt to Establish a Community at Sea"}}]}] ```