Innovative idea. But is the running of a business as simple as this? The idea of a ship dangling outside in deep sea full of imported programmers is sillier than outsourcing the job right to the place, where these programmers came from. Land is a cheaper option than sea.
I work offshore, and I doubt if this guy has really looked into it in detail....how will he transfer his crew- choppers are expensive (and how many software guys have their offshore survival ticket?), and doing it all by boat transfer would be slow and dangerous (crew transfer by boat isn't allowed in UK waters for safety reasons but maybe in US waters it's ok?)....there are all sorts of added costs: catering, laundry, marine etc. I'd also wonder if he's completly outside US jurisdiction: I'm still liable for UK taxes & all UK laws despite being well into international waters where I work!