Scientology cruise ship contaminated with blue asbestos

Aug 12, 2009

The Freewinds, a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology, is the only place in the world in which Scientologists can complete the level of OT VIII, which requires a “completely safe, aesthetic and distraction-free environment.” Former Scientologist Jason Beghe has called the ship a flea bag that shakes like crazy, hardly meeting two of those requirements about aesthetics and distractions. Most importantly, the presence of blue asbestos on the cruise ship ensures that the safety requirement is not met.

Lawrence Woodcraft oversaw original renovations of the Freewinds and reported that the ship was contaminated with the toxic substance blue asbestos. In a May 2008 statement, a spokesperson from the Church of Scientology stated that there has never been a problem with asbestos exposure.

But in April 2008, the Curacao Dry Dock Company confirmed the discovery of blue asbestos while maintenance was being performed. A third party news source stated that decontamination would cost tens of millions of dollars and keep the ship in dry dock for months.

While the Church of Scientology continued to deny the existence of asbestos, it hired Nordica Engineering to refit the ship. Nordica, in turn, hired 240 Polish workers who lived on the ship for a month and a half. When the workers reported back to Nordica that there was asbestos on the ship, the workers were ordered to quit and return to Poland. Nordica asked for compensation for its workers, but nothing has come from the case so far.

It is believed that the asbestos contamination is so extensive that the ship would need to be stripped down to its steel hull, something the Church of Scientology will not do because of the cost.

For the full story, go to Gloss Lip.

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