re: "For those in peril on the sea..."
I wonder why nobody has built large "oceangoing cities" based on platform technologies rather than ship technologies. A broad, flat vehicle would be much more stable, particularly if up on pylons. There would be a lot more flexibility on use of space, too.
The weak point, of course, is that you couldn't get into docking facilities, but would ferry boats be that much of a problem?
There have been some starts in this direction, but to the best of my knowledge, none of them is getting anywhere.