I shudder to think how many people have been exposed to that!
Anyone know the ramifications of this?
I shudder to think how many people have been exposed to that!
Anyone know the ramifications of this?
"The ship was sealed and isolated", that article says, while the (non-Scn) authorities investigate the extent of the danger. My guess is that unless they can be bribed by the CofS the ship will be declared non-habitable. And scrapped, it being not cost-effective to gut and fix. But even so, it will cost millions to scrap (I would guess) as most of the dismantling would have to be done by guys in HazMat suits, would it not?
Then the fun really starts. Criminal proceeding against the owners for hiding the contamination? At which point some SO members will get tossed to the wolves, most likely some scapegoats and not the real culprits.
And then, if not already, the civil suits will start from ex-scio public for reckless endangerment or whatever.
Meanwhile, OT VIII delivery will continue somewhere or other ashore. Maybe in DM's new Jo'burg castle? But probably not.
The CofS will have fun PR'ing this one. OSA Int PR thought they already had their hands full. Heh! Pass the popcorn.
Has it hit the newswires yet?
Paul
Since Lawrence Woodcraft made his statement about blue asbestos on the Freewinds 7 years ago, does this put CoS in a vulnerable position with regard to the law or do they get around all that by not being registered in the US?
2008 will go down in the history books as a bad year for the CofS.
Paul
Dunno. They might deliver outside the US, but they have certainly promoted and regged US citizens inside the US. But quite apart from the legal exposure the PR exposure is TREMENDOUS.
There is no way they can pretend they didn't know about it, not with Lawrence's affidavit and ability to testify (unless they suicide him, or something). Which means they deliberately hid the facts while regging hundreds of millions of dollars and delivering to tens of thousands of their most important customers for twenty years. This should terminally piss off an awful lot of people. It might be the straw that breaks the camel's toe.
Their only conceivable defence is the Chief Engineer's line, namely that Hubbard didn't say asbestos was dangerous so they didn't worry about it. That line won't wash in a criminal prosecution or civil suit, but it might work as a PR defence, although swearing blind that you're unbelievably stupid isn't the best of PR options.
2008 will go down in the history books as a bad year for the CofS.
Paul
WILLEMSTAD: During refurbishing and reparatory work, which involved removing the ceiling and panelling on cruise ship Freewinds, blue asbestos was released and ended up in the ventilation system.
Freewinds’ captain did not report this when it’s own personnel were working on the ship on the Mathey warf in Otrobanda. The Curacao Drydock Company (CDM), where the ship was taken for reparatory work on the hull, heard from the surveyor that there may be asbestos on the ship. The captain acknowledged the incident and said that after the incident Freewinds had some investigation done. Keeping the incident quiet became more noticeable when it turned out that the 40-year-old ship contatined blue asbestos.
The question is whether or not the blue asbestos dust, which can cause cancer, can be removed from the ship. The CDM has stopped all work on the ship. The ship was sealed and isolated and experts will investigate and measure the presence of asbestos dust in the hull and surrounding areas. Commissioners Eugene Rhuggenaath (Economic Affairs) and Humphrey Davelaar (Public Health) said on Friday.
CDM interim director Frank Esser, deputy head of the Department of Labour Affairs Christiene van der Biezen were accompanied by two inspectors and head of the health Department Tico Ras. Samples taken from the panelling last week by inspectors that were sent to the Netherlands showed that they contained significant amounts of blue asbestos. After an extraordinary meeting, the Executive Council decided to inform the public in general about the incident to avoid remours and panic.
The CDM personnel were also informed via the media because it was impossible to gather all the workers Friday evening to personally give them the information.
After an extraordinary meeting, the Executive Council decided to inform the public in general about the incident to avoid remours and panic
Just one comment:
How is this supposed to stop panic??
lol
I keep chuckling over Jason's comment about the Freewinds....'That ship is a fleabag....it ain't no nice luxury liner or nothin'....
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