As reported in the Bangkok Post, the Royal Thai Navy filed a criminal complaint with police about the two occupants, American Chad Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend Nadia Supranee Thepdet, under a section concerning threats to national soveignty. The two are the first seasteaders to put to sea as part of a group called Ocean Builders, an enterprise aimed at creating a community of floating homes, by developing and selling structures that can be self-sustaining in international waters. Following the incident Saturday, the Ocean Builders group posted a statement on their website saying that Elwartowski and Thepdet were not responsible for building the seastead, but were merely tenants. A lot of people, including myself are following them closely to learn from their experience.” Nagy said he hadn’t heard anything from Chad or Nadia beyond what Ocean Builders had stated online. Italian police eventually occupied the microstate and it was destroyed by the Italian navy, leading the founder to declare a government-in-exile.

Source: National Post April 18, 2019 18:12 UTC