Scientology cruise ship still locked down, still full of asbestos

A full six weeks after the Scientology cruise ship “Freewinds” was docked for repairs which led to the discovery of large amounts of asbestos, the ship is still locked down. It is now believed by some that the ship may never be able to take passengers again, due to the enormous expense of removing the large quantities of asbestos it contains. After being quarantined on April 26 at Mathey Warf in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Curacao Drydock Company was contracted to carry out refurbishment and repairs on the ship, but the company quickly ceased work due to the risk of asbestos exposure. Large amounts of Crocidolite (blue asbestos) were found to be present onboard the ship, and a statement from the vessel’s captain indicates that there have been previous incidents where the asbestos was released into the ship’s onboard ventilation system, which could potentially have resulted in asbestos exposure for everyone on board. Several officials, including deputy head of the Department of Labor Affairs Christiene van der Biezen and local health department head Tico Ras, inspected the ship and took samples from paneling that was subsequently found to contain blue asbestos in significant amounts. Subsequently, the Executive Council held a meeting and decided that informing the public would be the best way to avoid rumors and other problems. Other reports say that allegations about asbestos onboard the ship were made at least seven years ago. Lawrence Woodcraft, an architect and former Scientologist, claimed to have filed an affidavit affirming that he encountered blue asbestos on the ship in 1987-more than twenty years ago-and informed Scientology leaders. After the Curacao Drydock Company withdrew its workers, a team from the U.S. then arrived in The Netherlands to clean up the Scientology cruise ship. The arrival of the clean-up team was reported by Amigoe, the longest-running daily news publication in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. The U.S. team was subsequently found to be comprised of members of Scientology’s own paramilitary organization, the “Sea Org.” The clean-up team has been transporting truckloads of asbestos from the ship to the Selikor landfill site at Malpais, which is located on the island. However, despite these cleaning efforts, which may be putting members of Sea Org at high risk of asbestos exposure, Netherlands Ministry of Environment officials say that the enormous cost of making the “Freewinds” safe for use once again may end up being much more than the ship is actually worth. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)