MV Freewinds is a former cruise ship operated by International Shipping Partners and owned by San Donato Properties, a company affiliated with the Church of Scientology. She was built in 1968 by Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland, for Wallenius Lines as MS Bohème for service with Commodore Cruise Line. She was the first cruise ship built in Finland. Her ownership passed to a Church of Scientology–controlled company in 1985.
Concept and construction The ship that eventually became known as the Freewinds was originally ordered by the Sweden-based Lion Ferry as the second in a pair of two car/passenger ferries for use on their new Bremerhaven (West Germany)–Harwich (United Kingdom) service, with provisions made for cruise service during the Northern Hemisphere winter season. The ships shared the same design as and , that were under construction for Finnlines at Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard at the time. The ships ordered by Lion Ferry were built at Wärtsilä's Turku Shipyard, and the first of them, , was delivered to her owners on 14 May 1966. However, the passenger demand on the Bremerhaven–Harwich route proved to be insufficient for two ships, and Lion Ferry cancelled the order for a second ship, which was to be named "Prins Albert".
Meanwhile, the newly founded Commodore Cruise Line was looking for ships to operate on cruises around the Caribbean. An agreement was reached where the build contract of the half-complete ship was sold to the Sweden-based Wallenius Lines, which would have the ship completed as a cruise ship and, following completion, she would be chartered to Commodore Cruise Lines. Following their tradition of naming ships after operas, Wallenius decided to name the ship Bohème, after La bohème. Cabins were added in place of the car decks on the ship (although bow or stern doors were never fitted on her), and her superstructure was redesigned to better accommodate the need for sundeck space in the warmer climates. Bohème was delivered to Wallenius Bremen, Wallenius Lines' West Germany-based subsidiary, on 12 November 1968. She was registered in West Germany, with Bremerhaven as her home port.
Service history
1968–1981: Wallenius Lines ownership Following delivery the Bohème sailed to Stockholm, the location of Wallenius Lines' headquarters, for a presentation to invited guests. On departing Stockholm for Miami she carried her first paying passengers on board. Her maiden voyage was cut short however, as she hit an underwater cliff outside Dalarö in the Stockholm Archipelago. The cliff breached the ship's hull and fuel tanks. Lifeboats were used to evacuate all passengers from the listing ship, and three days later she was refloated and towed to the Finnboda shipyard in Nacka for week-long repairs. After the repairs she again left for Miami, this time without passengers.
On 7 December 1968, the Bohème left on her first cruise from Miami to Saint Thomas. During her first year in service, the ship experienced notable air conditioning problems due to its shipyard's inexperience with ships destined for the warm Caribbean climate. As a result, she returned to Europe in 1980, sailing to the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, West Germany where the air conditioning system was rebuilt, and an additional screw compressor as well as two freshwater generators were installed. Following the rebuild, the Bohème re-entered service with a Miami–Puerto Plata–Saint Thomas–San Juan–Cap-Haïtien–Miami itinerary. She followed the same itinerary all year long, becoming the first ship to offer year-round seven-night cruises from Miami. She was also the first cruise ship to call at Puerto Plata and the first to offer regular sailings to Cap Haitien.
1981–1986: Rederi Ab Sally ownership In March 1981, Commodore Cruise Line, as well as the Bohème, were sold to the Finland-based Rederi Ab Sally. The new owners re-registered the Bohème in Panama, leading to the resignation of most of the German officers due to worsened working conditions. The resigning officers were replaced with Scandinavians. The following year, the German deck and engine crews were replaced by Filipinos. Originally, the new crew members were meant for , a former ocean liner (ex Gripsholm 1957) Sally had purchased for conversion into service with Commodore Cruise Line. However, after the Navarino was severely damaged following the capsizing of its dry dock, the conversion plans were abandoned. The crew already hired for the Navarino was transferred to the Bohème.
Between November 1982 and August 1983, the Bohème was chartered to Brazilia-based Saitecin Cruises for cruises around South America. She also made one cruise from Miami under this charter. Following this charter, the ship again returned to West Germany to be rebuilt, this time in Bremerhaven, where two new diesel generators were installed and much of the interior decorations replaced. While in Bremerhaven, she also received a new external livery. On returning to service in 1984, the Bohème was placed on a new Miami–Port-au-Prince–Port Antonio–Grand Cayman–Cozumel–Miami itinerary. The schedule proved to be too tight to maintain, especially in poor weather conditions. With engine problems causing further issues, this itinerary only lasted until November 1984, when the ship was chartered to SeaEscape for its Miami–Freeport ferry service.
In February 1985, the Bohème returned to Commodore Cruise Line service. Her port of departure was changed to Saint Petersburg, Florida, to better cater to the needs of Commodore's main clientele, retired people living on Florida's west coast. The ship's new seven-day itinerary was Saint Petersburg–Key West–Port Antonio–Cozumel–Saint Petersburg. The new route proved to be short-lived, as the Bohème was sold to San Donato Properties Corporation in September 1986 for US$10 million (), to be converted for use with the Church of Scientology.
1986 onwards: Scientology acquisition and ownership In 1984, the Church of Scientology's parent body, the Church of Scientology International (CSI), decided to acquire a ship on which to deliver high-level Scientology courses. According to a statement by the Church:
The Flag Ship Trust (FST) entity was formed in December 1985 with the aid of a US$5 million donation from the International Association of Scientologists. In September 1986, the FST purchased Bohème, renamed her Freewinds, and refitted her to enable use for Scientology purposes. Lawrence Woodcraft, a licensed British architect in the Sea Org, was chosen by FST to be the "Chief Architect" of the ship. Upon arrival, Woodcraft discovered that he was not doing any design work but only producing working drawings of renderings and sketches by the "LRH Architects" Barry and Carol Stein (whom Woodcraft later found out were not licensed architects). The designs were full of functional defects, such as moving the dining room two decks up without the kitchen and replacing the existing dining room with a course room (causing disturbances from the noise from the kitchen). When Woodcraft pointed out such defects, he was overruled, and in the case of the restaurant, senior managers ordered an elevator to be installed, which required cutting through steel floors, threatening the ship's structural integrity. Woodcraft and the chief of the renovations, Steve Kozaki, were unsure about the composition of the walls. Kozaki slammed a hammer into a wall, releasing a powdery substance that Woodcraft immediately identified as asbestos. He later confirmed it when he found the original Finnish blueprints, which clearly labeled "asbestos" insulation all over the ship. Woodcraft confronted the Chief Engineer, Wack Alcock, who immediately denied having asbestos and claimed it was just "insulation." Woodcraft informed multiple people, who all disregarded his warnings, except Bitty Miscavige, the sister-in-law of Scientology head David Miscavige, who supervised the project. Bitty immediately became concerned and tried to resolve the issue, but decided not to after Alcock could not find anything about asbestos in L Ron Hubbard's literature and reminded Bitty of Scientology doctrine, which held that cancer was caused by "sexual misconduct," not asbestos. Further damage was caused when one of Hubbard's writings was found to criticize fiberglass, as a consequence of which Sea Org ordered the removal of all the fiberglass protecting the ship from the Caribbean sun.Fresh Intelligence : Radar Online : Cancer on the Lido Deck? Scientology Responds
Once construction started, Woodcraft witnessed how Sea Org members without experience in maritime engineering or interior design were brought without pay, carelessly ripping into the interiors, ventilation, and plumbing, releasing asbestos all over the ship. Many Sea Org members were covered head-to-toe with asbestos, with one individual, after being warned about it by Woodcraft, dismissing his concern and biting into the asbestos. The ship's construction fell vastly behind schedule and over budget, so Scientology management contracted "CCL," a professional ship refitting company based out of Southampton working primarily in Miami. Upon arrival, CCL Engineers were shocked and outraged by the ship's condition and the asbestos contamination, threatening to report them to the authorities. Scientology management allegedly paid CCL extra money, fearing a significant public relations issue. They compromised to have Sea Org members spray contaminated areas with water in a useless attempt to prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne. Eventually, relations with CCL broke down, and they left without performing any work. It was then decided to recruit non-Sea Org Scientologists with the necessary skills to complete the construction. The vessel was placed back into service in June 1988.
The ownership and management of the vessel was organized through a complicated web of Scientology-run corporations and entities, most of which are owned by the FST. It is owned by San Donato Properties, a Panamanian corporation of which FST is the sole shareholder. Another FST-owned Panamanian corporation, Transcorp Services, owns the mortgage on the Freewinds. FSS Organization was a Netherlands Antilles corporation responsible for paying certain taxes on the vessel to the Netherlands Antilles authorities. Scientology courses are delivered aboard the vessel by the Flag Ship Service Organization (FSSO), in effect a floating branch of the Church of Scientology. Majestic Cruise Lines is a Panamanian corporation which operates the Freewinds, receiving payment from FSSO for the use of the ship. MCL Services is a corporation in the Netherlands Antilles that provides shore support and liaison services for Majestic Cruise Lines and FSSO from the home port of the Freewinds, Curaçao.
Following the Church of Scientology's tax exemption agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in 1993, these arrangements were simplified. The responsibilities of the Majestic Cruise Lines were to be transferred to FSSO, with Majestic itself being dissolved, and FSS Organization being dissolved as it was no longer required for tax reporting purposes in the Netherlands Antilles. However, as of 1999 the Majestic company was continuing to bill visitors to the Freewinds.
Freewinds is the fifth ship to be owned by the Church of Scientology. The other four were (later Apollo), Enchanter (later Diana), Avon River (later Athena), and Nekambi, all of which have apparently been scrapped.Miller, R. (1987): Bare-faced Messiah, Michael Joseph books, London. 380 pages Full text However, the nameplate of Diana has been preserved and is on display aboard Freewinds. The church also operated two World War II surplus ships from the late 1960s until the early 1970s. These were Bolivar, a subchaser, and T.S.M.Y. Excalibur. Both of these vessels were docked at San Pedro, California, and were used for training new Sea Org members.
Scientology use