The Freewinds has been stranded dockside in Aruba since March 12, 2020

The cruise ship industry has been devastated by the pandemic. Scientology’s 1968-vintage cruise ship the MV Freewinds is no exception. If anything, the Freewinds has been hit by a double-whammy as it is a Scientology-only ship whose sole purpose is to deliver Scientology courses and OT VIII. The demand for Scientology services is collapsing along with the membership of the Scientology Cult itself.

According to Kestrel, who monitors the ship at Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker, the Freewinds has now been stuck dockside in Aruba since March 12, 2020:

This six-months will likely turn into a year or more. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as of today still rates Aruba as high risk for COVID-19:

Aruba now requires all foreign nationals traveling to the island to be pre-tested for COVID-19 and to purchase COVID-19 insurance to cover medical costs if they get sick while in Aruba. It is clear that the Aruban government will not pay the medical expenses of any non-citizens. Aruba has been economically battered by the pandemic as it so dependent upon cruise ship tourism dollars.

The Freewinds was slammed with a measles outbreak in May 2019 and was forced into dockside quarantine for several months. Between the measles outbreak and the pandemic, the Freewinds has not seen much active service for the past 18 months.

Captain Mike Napier and his crew are not generating income for the Church of Scientology. Per Ron Hubbard’s finance policy, this means the Napier and his crew are likely being paid less than the typical $50 a week Sea Org pay.

Our sources tell us that the Freewinds has always operated at a loss. However, the ship is subsidized by the Church as it serves as  a symbol of Hubbard’s original flagship The Apollo. Hubbard’s flagship met an inglorious end as we detailed in a previous post.