One of the many things that were not on our 2022 Bingo cards was a massive turtle-shaped boat that is being characterized as a floating metropolis. Still, we’ve arrived at this point. Designs for a huge yacht that looks like a tortoise with its flippers extended have reportedly been drawn up by an Italian design company, Lazzarini Design Studio, and shown on CNN. The ship is so massive that its creators have stopped short of calling it a superyacht and instead call it a terayacht. In honor of Pangea, the ancient supercontinent that included what is now most of Earth’s landmasses, its proper name is Pangeos. According to Lazzarini, the ship will be big enough to provide lodgings for up to 60,000 people in the form of hotels, flats, condos, shops, parks, and other facilities. Pangeos has ship and aviation ports so that passengers may visit the yacht even when it is not parked near land. Given that the organization does not expect the turtle to adhere to any particular schedule at this time, this is useful.

The boat will be the world’s longest floating structure at 1,800 feet in length and 2,000 feet in width. Of course, that’s if it gets built, which is another challenge in and of itself. Pangeos claims that “the terayacht needs a terashipyard,” yet no such facility currently exists. In addition to a circular dam excavating around 0.4 square miles of sea, the proposal calls for a yard 200 miles wide and 180 miles long. After the yacht has finished being built, the dam will be released, flooding the region and essentially launching the vessel. Lazzarini’s current top pick for a building site is the Saudi Arabian shore.

Pangeos’ flippers are more than just an oddity in a sea environment where most boats adhere to the typical V shape and even less commonly adopt animal forms. The business claims that the boat’s fins and rudder can harvest energy from the motion of the waves, enabling it to go forever without emitting any pollution. Solar panels might be installed on the roof for backup power, and electric motors are included into the structure as well.

The business estimates that more than $8 billion will be spent on building the massive ship. Moreover, building will take at least eight years, and Lazzarini does not expect it to begin until at least 2025. The company has a plan to lower the steep price and shorten the long wait. According to the business’s white paper, the metaverse version of the boat will be ready for (virtual) boarding by 2023, and as part of an NFT crowdfunding drive, the company is offering “Unreal Estate,” which includes virtual boarding tickets, hotel rooms, and even residences.