Dormitory - Floating Dormitories

Floating Dormitories

A floating dormitory is a water-borne vessel that provides, as its primary function, living quarters for students enrolled at an educational institution. A floating dormitory functions as a conventional land-based dormitory in all respects except that the living quarters are aboard a floating vessel. A floating dormitory is most often moored in place near the host educational facility and is not used for water transport. Dormitory ships may also refer to vessels that provide water-borne housing in support of non-academic enterprises such as off-shore oil drilling operations. Other vessels containing living quarters for students as ancillary support to the vessel's primary function — such as for providing maritime or other training given aboard the vessel — are more appropriately categorized as training ships.

Notable among floating dormitories is SS Stevens, a 473-foot, 14,893-ton ship operated by Stevens Institute of Technology, a technological university, in Hoboken, New Jersey. From 1968 to 1975, Stevens served as the floating dormitory for as many as 150 students of the institute.