clusion, providing drawings and specifications so the job could be bid. "The effort and enthusiasm of the people involved" is what stands-out on this project, according to Jon Rusten, COO and VP Development, Ocean Development Group, a man with more than a few high-profile cruise ship projects under his belt. "The level of quality is incredible. Nobody can afford this level of quality anymore, and they are independent of commercial consideration." In 2005, when the Church of Scientology was evaluating the future of its marine operations, it had owned and operated M/V Freewinds for nearly 20 of its 37-year existence. The question essentially revolved around two words: renovate or replace. "We were looking at the age of the vessel, and trying to determine what our long-term look was going to be," said Ben Garner, the chief engineer. "We surveyed several other vessels in 2005, and we came to realize that we had a goldmine sitting right underneath our feet." "The waiting lists for a new building were far past our operational plans," said Ludwig Alpers, Port Captain, M/V Freewinds. "We did survey available vessels but the market was slim and there was nothing that would have been a viable upgrade to the vessel we already had. To put it bluntly, they don't build ships like they used to."
Old Ships = Good Ships?
tween the ship's original design and its eventual use, a number of problems quickly presented themselves, and the ship was rebuilt at Germany's Blohm + Voss in Hamburg in 1970, in part to address a subpar air conditioning system and to upgrade the refrigeration system.
Following the rebuild, for the next 12 years the ship had the same weekly route: Miami � Puerto Plata � St: Thomas and an overnight stay in San Juan. P.R., with the last port being Cape Hatien. In 1986 the ship was sold to San Donato Properties Corporation, Panama,
and renamed M/V Freewinds, and Majestic Cruise Lines operated it for the Church of Scientology, its present owner. Upon taking its new cruise ship, the owners set out on a 1.5 year renovation using local contractors in Curacao and church members, which essentially transformed
If nothing else, the maritime industry likes a good ship story, and the M/V Freewinds (ex-M/S Boh�me) has a good one to tell. The ship was built in 1968 by W�rtsil� in Turku, Finland, for Wallenius Lines as M/S Boh�me, measuring 134 x 21 m with a 5.5 m draft and powered by a pair of W�rtsil�-Sulzer RD56-8 diesels, generating 14,000 BHP and driving the twin-screw ship to 20 knots, according to the ship history site www.faktaomfartyg.se and http://en.wikipedia.org. Originally envisioned as a car ferry to operate between Bremerhaven and Harwich, the ship featured a strong ice class hull and was designed to carry 460 passengers. But as often happens, plans change, and the fate of M/S Boh�me did too as the ferry line didn't turn out to be as successful as planned, and at the same time Commodore Cruise Line was in search of a new ship: M/S Boh�me was targeted. At keel laying it was re-planned to be a cruise ship, and with M/S Boh�me, Commodore helped to start what is widely regarded as the birth of the modern-day Caribbean cruise industry, offering year-round, seven-night cruises out of Miami. Given the difference beOctober 2009 www.marinelink.com 33