It has been known for decades that the Freewinds, the ship where OT VIII
was being traditionally delivered was riddled with Blue asbestos, a common
component in ship building during the 1950s and 1960s.
In the United States, since the early 1970s asbestos, by Law, is forbidden
in construction. It is probably why L. Ron Hubbard who returned to the United
states in 1975, has made no mention of it in his numerous "advices" which
Church officials follow like if it were pure Gospel.
Therefore in 1989 when the architect Lawrence Woodcraft was appaled and
concerned by Blue asbestos floating all over the air as crew was renovating
it, Church staff in charge dismissed every one of his statements because
"Hubbard never spoke agaisnt Asbestos", a statement as silly and irresponsible
as if one were to say it is permissible to feed staff raw sewage, as Hubbard
never wrote anything specifically forbidding the practice.
It is of further interested to see that most dictionairies including Webster
and world Book, both dictionnairies endorsedby the Church, defines asbestos
as a compound "no longer in use due Cancer concerns". The church in its SHSBC
glossary and in the new books glossay published in 2007, has that statement
omitted.
What is particularly reprehensible is that the Church requires its staff
during the refurbishing to be exposed to Blue Sbestos dust, just like over
100 staff were ordered to work (most of them without a mask) with the air
thick with blue asbestos dust for months, when the Freewinds was originall
prepared in 1988-1989. No extra compensation was ever considered for those
staff (many of them in the RPF) . On the contrary, lenghty "intelligence files"
were gathered on each person to make them feel guilty for their "awful trangressions"
agaisnt the CHurch, when in fact they were nothing short of slave labour
and were expected to work for no compensation and accept the mere contemplation
of the promises of Scientology as their salary. Most of them received nothing.
None of those staff made it on the OT Levels, unless he was already there.
Many left the CHurch either broken, or no longer believeing Scientology even
worked.
FREEWINDS HIDES INFORMATION ABOUT PRESENCE
OF ASBESTOS
Daily Herald, St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles 28 April 2008
"WILLEMSTAD: During refurbishing and reparatory work, which involved removing
the ceiling and panelling on cruise ship Freewinds, blue asbestos was released
and ended up in the ventilation system.
Freewinds' captain did not report this when it's own personnel were working
on the ship on the Mathey warf in Otrobanda. The Curacao Drydock Company (CDM),
where the ship was taken for reparatory work on the hull, heard from the
surveyor that there may be asbestos on the ship. The captain acknowledged
the incident and said that after the incident Freewinds had some investigation
done.
Keeping the incident quiet became more noticeable when it turned out that
the 40-year-old ship contained blue asbestos.
The question is whether or not the blue asbestos dust, which can cause cancer,
can be removed from the ship. The CDM has stopped all work on the ship.
The shipwas sealed and isolated and experts will investigate and measure
the presence of asbestos dust in the hull and surrounding areas. Commissioners
EugeneRhuggenaath (Economic Affairs) and Humphrey Davelaar (Public Health)
said on Friday.
CDM interim director Frank Esser, deputy head of the Department of Labour
Affairs Christiene van der Biezen were accompanied by two inspectors and head
of the health Department Tico Ras. Samples taken from the panelling last
week by inspectors that were sent to the Netherlands showed that they containedsignificant
amounts of blue asbestos. After an extraordinary meeting, theExecutive
Council decided to inform the public in general about the incident to avoid
rumours and panic.
The CDM personnel were also informed via the media because it was impossible
to gather all the workers Friday evening to personally give them the information."
-------
Published on Lloyd List: the ultimate Naval Information Source, published
continualy since 1734
Asbestos scare seals off Scientology cruiseship
Refurbishment work is suspended on ship used as a spiritual
retreat
Rainbow Nelson - Wednesday 7 May 2008
A PANAMA-flagged cruiseship used by the Church of Scientology as its ultimate
spiritual retreat remains sealed after a health scare forced refurbishment
of the vessel being carried out by Curaçao Drydock Co to be suspended.
Work on the vessel’s interior was halted on Freewinds 10 days ago after
health inspectors from the government of the island of Curaçao said
they had found traces of blue asbestos aboard the 1968-built vessel.
The Det Norske Veritas-classed vessel was undergoing a refit, including
renovations of all cabins and accommodations facilities, as well as upgrading
navigational and nautical safety equipment to meet maritime codes scheduled
for implementation in 2010.
Panama-based San Donato Properties is the registered owner, with Majestic
Cruise Line listed as the beneficial owner. Both are controlled by the international
arm of the Church of Scientology.
Curaçao Drydock’s interim director Frank Esser and the head of Curaçao’s
department of labour affairs, Christiene van der Biezen, were accompanied
on an inspection of the vessel on April 25 by two inspectors and the head
of the local health department, Tico Ras.
Refurbishment work was suspended following the inspection and a ‘clean-up’
team contracted to remove traces of the carcinogenic substance over the holiday
weekend.
Until the air safety levels return to normal, the vessel will remain sealed
to workers of the state-owned shiprepair specialist, said an expert at the
local health authority.
A decision on whether to allow work to continue will be taken upon the arrival
of flag state inspectors and further inspections by experts from the Netherlands,
said the health authority expert.
He said there was no risk that passengers would have come into contact with
the toxic dust as it was released during the refurbishment works.
The Panama Maritime Authority said it will be sending technical representatives
this week to plot a course of action with DNV and the ship’s owner.
“We are sending someone so that they can tell us what happened, where it
came from, since when it has been there,” said Panama Maritime Authority’s
director of merchant marine Alfonso Castillero. “What is required is to repair
the problem immediately and later, when the technical surveyor in charge gives
me the answers to these questions, Panama will take any action that merits
with class or the ship.”
A director at Curaçao Drydock said the ship was scheduled to leave
the drydock some time this week.
Freewinds has operated as an exclusive retreat for the Church of Scientology
since 1988.
The Church of Scientology Flag Ship Service Organisation uses the vessel
as a spiritual retreat for the most dedicated followers of the controversial
religion. It is the only place where Scientologists can reach Operating Thetan
VIII, the highest level attainable in the religion. ***
Other religious programs are conducted aboard, including religious conventions
and seminars for staff and parishioners of churches of Scientology from around
the world.
The ship has used Curaçao as its homeport since it was acquired and
upgraded for use by the Church in the late 1980s.
A spokesperson for the church in Los Angeles told Lloyd’s List that it was
reviewing the situation.
In an earlier statement published on the internet, the Church of Scientology’s
director of public affairs, Karin Pouw, said: “The Freewinds regularly inspects
the air quality on board and always meets or exceeds US standards.
“Inspections done on April 15, 2008 and April 28, 2008 again confirmed that
the air quality is safe, in accordance with the standards set by the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration and the US Clean Air Act.
“Freewinds is being restored to better than new condition and no expense
has ever been spared in meeting the highest safety standards of any seagoing
vessel,” the statement continued. “The Freewinds will be completing its refit
on schedule.”
Note by Web page Publisher:
*** OT VIII may be achieved properly without any risk of Asbestos
exposure outside the CHurch of Scientology. Ask for a competent auditor in
the Independent Field outside the CHurch for details
OT VIII has been done on the Freewinds is largely the works or Ray Mithoff
(declared persona non Grata by current Management) and David Miscavige, someone
who never trained beyond his provisional Class IV certificate, now long expired.
It bears only a vague ressemblance with the latter part of the original OT
VIII written by L. Ron Hubbard. One of the original OT VIII bulletins (clearly
labelled - SECRET OT VIII) can be found on the original Class VIII Course
and can be verfied to bears absolutely no ressemblance with what is currently
taught aboard the Freewinds.