A COLD, BOLD plot to hijack an iceberg and tow it from Antarctica to South Africa could take place this year.

"Ice pirate" Nicholas Sloane wants to cart a 125million-ton 'berg across the sea – only to melt it down for drinking water.

4 The zany plot will see the iceberg dragged across thousands of miles of ocean

Sloane, 56, is a professional marine salvager who recently oversaw the refloating of capsized Italian cruise ship the Costa Concordia.

And he now hopes to solve South Africa's water crisis by nabbing an iceberg from the South Pole, Bloomberg reveals.

Severe drought in 2017 led to Cape Town nearly running out of water, and the city – which Sloane calls home – still has restrictions of 70 litres per day.

"My wife used to take a bath every night and a shower every morning. She told me, ‘You’d better do something'," Sloane said.

4 Captain Nicholas Sloane helms the project, which could make up 20% of the water needed to supply Cape Town for a year Credit: Getty Images - Getty

He now plans to harness and tow an enormous Antarctic iceberg, and then convert it into drinkable water.

"To make it economically feasible, the iceberg will have to be big," Sloane explained.

He said it would need to be 3,281 feet long, 1,640 feet wide, 820 feet deep – and weigh around 125million tonnes.

"That would supply about 20% of Cape Town's water needs for a year," he added.

4 The ideal iceberg would be enormous – dwarfing humanity's biggest landmarks

Sloane has reportedly assembled a crack team of glaciologists, oceanographers and engineers to bag the 'berg.

And he's even secured funding from a group of financiers to fund his 'Southern Ice Project'.

The entire mission is expected to cost upwards of $200million (£158million).

This will largely be funded by two South African banks and a Swiss water tech firm called Water Vision AG, the report claims.

Sloane now needs to secure an agreement with South Africa for the nation to buy the Antarctic water.

"We'll never get back to the days where water is flowing all over the Cape," he said.

"If the taps run dry, the first day people will be standing in lines at watering points throughout the city.

"The second day, if you don't get your water, well, people are killed for that."

4 Tugboats often move smaller icebergs out of shipping routes – or off collision course with oilrigs Credit: Getty Images - Getty

What is an iceberg? Here's what you need to know... An iceberg is a large chunk of ice made from freshwater

It has typically broken off from a glacier or an ice shelft

The name is a loan translation from the Dutch 'ijsberg', which means ice mountain

Icebergs are found floating freely in open salt-water

Around 90% of an iceberg is below the surface, and therefore not visible

That's why they're considered to be a major shipping hazard

The most famous iceberg-at-sea incident was the 1912 loss of the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, which capsized after hitting an iceberg

The largest iceberg ever recorded is Iceberg B-15, which was calved from Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000

It measured 183 miles long, 23 miles wide, and had a surface area of 4,200 square miles – bigger than Jamaica

It's claimed that Sloane would be able to charter the ships and prepare the mission within six months.

However, the mission wouldn't be able to take place until November or December, when "the Antarctic climate is somewhat less ferocious", the report notes.

Sloane added: "We're taking on all the risk. We're ready to go."

An enormous new iceberg has been found in Antarctica, three times the size of Manhattan

And although nabbing an iceberg might sound like theft, it's actually not a bad move.

More than 100,000 Antarctic icebergs melt into the ocean every single year.

These fresh-water bergs are effectively wasted in the sea, and could instead be used as a vital source of hydration for drought-stricken nations.

And as Bloomberg notes, iceberg-harvesting isn't an entirely new concept either.

In the mid 1800s, Chilean breweries would tow small icebergs – sometimes fitted with sails – for refrigeration purposes.

And the UAE previously plotted to drag icebergs from the Antarctic to provide water to the desert kingdom.

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Nasa recently discovered an incredible mile-long perfectly rectangular iceberg floating in the Antarctic.

And the space agency recently warned that an "iceberg twice the size of Manhattan" could break away from the South Pole.

Scientists recently warned over an ancient Antarctic ice sheet collapse that caused a "global flood", which could happen again.

Is this plan ice-cold genius or not very n-ice? Let us know in the comments!

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