Upon opening to an excited crowd, a $1.5 million floating home – complete with a jacuzzi, panoramic windows, and an impressive exterior – proved a resounding success for multiple days as visitors toured inside. However, hopes for smooth sailing quickly met a disappointing end as the high-end home began leaning, ending up partially submerged and severely tilted into the ocean.  

At 4 pm on September 22, the SeaPod rapidly sank after a malfunction in the ballast technology, filling the Jacuzzi spar with water and nearly taking the entire home down with it. 

Nobody was hurt (or even damp) and the SeaPod suffered minor cosmetic damages – and owing to an ecological outlook from the makers, Ocean Builders, no ecological damage occurred in the area as a result. Ocean Builders released a public article and will also release a full report on what happened, so there’s something to be said for transparency in an invention that could have serious impacts on oceanic ecosystems. 

The SeaPod Eco and Flagship are homes designed for simplicity, easy manufacturing and transport, and to be “eco-restorative”, ranging from $295,000 (£263,000) up to $1.5 million (£1.3million). Each home has three half-floors and stands 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) above the water thanks to air-filled steel tubes below the surface. This leads to incredible “comfort and stability”, according to the manufacturers.