More than a year has passed since this San Diego-based company announced its seemingly audacious goal of buying a ship and sailing three miles off the coast of California with a boatload of programmers from around the world to do coding work for U.S. companies at low wages.

Roger Green, one of the venture's founders, said the company hopes to have its financing set this month and has identified a ship with room for 100 programmers -- each with their own private berth.

"We've been keeping a very low profile because the ship is not yet acquired," said Green, adding that his company is negotiating financing for a ship acquisition. "We have a lot of confidence."

The ship will fly the flag of a country other than the U.S. and operate under international seafaring laws. The firm's business case to U.S. customers is simple: to offer coding work at prices similar to offshore rates but at close proximity to its North American clients.

Green said he won't be hiring programmers until SeaCode lines up client contracts and knows what kinds of skills are needed. It plans to recruit workers from India and Eastern Europe, although Green said he has also heard from some U.S. engineers interested in employment.