Freewinds

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 problems, 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,

CSI believed that an ocean-going vessel would be the most appropriate facility for ministering New OT VIII because this advanced level of religious service requires a completely safe, aesthetic and distraction-free environment and because L. Ron Hubbard, the religion's founder, had researched and ministered the first OT levels aboard a ship in the late 1960s. A ship therefore would have particular religious significance to Scientologists.Flag Ship Trust ''Application for Recognition of Exemption''
, IRS Form 1023, August 18, 1993

An entity called the Flag Ship Trust (FST) 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 member of the Sea Org, was chosen by the Scientology leadership 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 installed an elevator to move the food between the two levels. This required cutting through steel floors, which threatened 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 which Woodcraft immediately identified as asbestos. He later confirmed it when he found the original Finnish blueprints, which clearly labeled "asbestos" all over the ship. Woodcraft confronted the Ship's Chief Engineer, Wack Alcock, who immediately denied having asbestos and claimed it was just "insulation." Woodcraft informed multiple people, who all disregarded his warnings, with the exception of Bitty Miscavige, the sister-in-law of Scientology head David Miscavige, who was given overall supervision of 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 were found to criticize fiberglass, which the Sea Org ordered the removal of all the fiberglass protecting the ship from the Caribbean sun.

Once construction started, Woodcraft witnessed how Sea Org members with no 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, dismissed his concern and bit 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 left without performing any work. It was then decided to recruit from 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, the Majestic company remains in existence and is still actively billing 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. 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

''Freewinds'' is the exclusive training center for OT VIII (Operating Thetan Level 8), the highest level of Scientology and the last of the published OT levels. Members of the Church of Scientology who have reached the highest levels must receive their training on the ''Freewinds''.

Besides the OT VIII training, ''Freewinds'' is used for delivering lower-level classes, auditing services, and recreational activities for Scientologists. The ship hosts a "Freewinds Maiden Voyage" each June as an "OT Summit" for high-ranking Scientologists at which Scientology accomplishments and plans for the future are celebrated.

A significant portion of the ship is given over to its use as a religious retreat for Scientologists. In addition to various course rooms and a library of L. Ron Hubbard books, ''Freewinds'' has areas given over to the Religious Technology Center, Sea Org