A company wants to take a Carnival cruise ship, rendered useless by the COVID-19 pandemic, and turn it into a floating office for tech workers as the industry shifts to remote work.

The project, first reported by The Telegraph's Margi Murphy, is dubbed "The Crypto Cruise Ship" and is designed as an entrepreneurial incubator for crypto enthusiasts, digital nomads, YouTube influencers, startups, and other like-minded folks. Guests will have access to yoga and fitness classes, meditation services, a swimming pool, a running track, and more. There's also a 5,000-square-foot theatre for workshops, conventions, movies, and live performances.

Ocean Builders did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

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According to the website, all businesses onboard will accept payment in the form of bitcoin and USD, as well as other forms of payment.

"If you are concerned about catching the flu you have the option to wearing a mask, social distancing, or taking preventative doses of hydroxychloroquine," the cruise's website states, seemingly referring to the coronavirus disease as "the flu."

The company's endeavor to create an unconventional work setup represents a growing industry that is catering to a mass shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have been freed from having to live near now-closed corporate offices and have subsequently been deprived of the usual perks that come with working in the region, such as free snacks and in-house massages.

As for turning to floating accommodations for live-and-work purposes, this isn't Silicon Valley's first time to entertain such a notion. Ex-Googler Patri Friedman, founder of the nonprofit think tank Seasteading Institute, told The Telegraph in a June interview that he's seen an increase in interest in seasteads, or floating cities that operate independently of existing governments.

Friedman also once drafted designs for a would-be floating settlement in the Bay Area that would be "Burning Man meets Silicon Valley meets the water." The idea inspired BlueSeed, a startup that set out to launch a so-called "Googleplex of the seas" in 2013 as Business Insider reported in 2011.

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An unused Carnival cruise ship could soon become a floating office where techies, YouTube influencers, and 'di - Business Insider India