Quarantined off the coast of St. Lucia, the country’s chief medical officer Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James told the media that the country was investigating an outbreak of measles on a ship docked in the country’s port. While Dr. Fredericks-James declined to confirm who or what was involved, St. Lucia’s Coast Guard affirmed that the ship’s name was the “Freewinds,” a ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. Apparently, Xenu doesn’t protect practitioners from nearly eradicated diseases.
The Freewinds operates the Church of Scientology’s high-level educational courses, with the Church stating it “Believed that an ocean-going vessel would be most appropriate for ministering New OT (Operating Thetan) 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.” Others, however, have claimed that the Church of Scientology uses the ship to imprison and prevent would-be dissenters from leaving the church. The Church of Scientology denies these allegations.
The ship was also dry-docked in 2008 after health inspectors found blue asbestos throughout the ship living and working spaces, stating there were “significant amounts.” There are also reports of the Church of Scientology knowing about the asbestos ahead of the failed 2008 inspection. However, the original CNN report (as well as the subsequent reporting by other major media outlets) which cited an affidavit made by former Church of Scientology member Lawrence Woodcraft, who also worked on the ship, all lead to now broken
hyperlinks—though these reports are still cited on Scientology-devoted blogs and forums, as well as the now-defunct Gawker.
According to a statement made by Dr. Fredericks-James, “Measles is a highly contagious disease. Anyone who is not adequately immunized against measles can contract the disease if there has been close contact with a confirmed case. It is therefore likely that other persons on the boat may have been exposed.” The doctor later confirmed that the Freewind’s doctor was the person who informed St. Lucia’s medical staff about the “confirmed case,” and that the afflicted individual “is in stable condition.” The ship is scheduled to leave St. Lucia Thursday morning as there are no laws preventing it from leaving the port.
The Church of Scientology did not return a request for comment at the time of this publishing. We will update it if we receive a comment on the situation aboard the Freewinds.
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