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Norweigan Ships Will Take SeaTrek Foundation to Court over Debts
OSLO, NORWAY -- The non-profit foundation that runs one of the
Norweigan ships used in last summer's Sea Trek 2001 says it plans to
take the Sea Trek Foundation to court over unpaid bills. The
foundation behind one of the three ships, represented by its managing
director, Per Langhelle, plans to file a complaint in a Norweigan
city court in the next few days, seeking payment of the more than
$750,000 owed to the ships. Langhelle claims his organization
believed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was behind
the event, and therefore didn't seek as large an upfront payment as
they normally require.
The non-profit Sea Trek Foundation was formed by LDS businessman and
fundraiser William K. Sadleir of Salt Lake City specifically to
recreate the voyage of some 85,000 Mormon converts from Europe to the
U.S. in the latter half of the 19th century. The event was very
successful, attracting large crowds and positive attention to the LDS
Church in nearly a dozen European ports before the ships sailed for
the U.S.
But almost from the beginning the foundation, which was never
supported by the LDS Church, faced financial difficulties. Sadleir
first raised a $1 million donation from LDS entrepreneur and
multi-millionaire David Huber, one of the world's wealthiest Mormons,
and then persuaded him to give an additional $1.9 million for a total
of nearly 60% of the $5 million budget for the event.
Huber is the founder and CEO of Corvis Inc., an optical networking
company that went public in July 2000 and attracted national
attention because the market valued the company at more than $28
billion. That valuation instantly made Huber the world's wealthiest
Mormon, with a personal fortune valued by Forbes magazine, on paper,
at $8 billion. However, within six months Covis' stock price declined
from a high of more than $100 a share to less than $5 a share, and
Huber's fortune declined with it.
But in spite of Huber's generosity, the foundation needed high
bookings from those that wished to travel on the ships. Those
bookings never materialized, and Sadlier kept putting off paying the
bills to the ships' managers. When the ships reached the Canary
Islands, the ships required Sadlier to come up with an additional
$350,000 before continuing. When Sadlier managed to get between
$250,000 and $300,000 in donations and bank guarantees from several
individuals, two of the ships agreed to continue, finishing the
voyage to New York City on the promise that Sea Trek would make
payment there.
Now the situation has left the SeaTrek Foundation and the ships'
owners on the verge of a court case over the outstanding debts. And
both the owners and SeaTrek's Sadlier claim that the Church's
relationship to the project is an issue. Langhelle, managing director
of the foundation that owns the "Christian Radich," notes that while
the LDS Church may not have been involved in the SeaTrek Foundation,
the Church in Norway and other parts of Europe were very prominent
and involved. The SeaTrek Foundation's efforts were highly
coordinated with the Church's public relations efforts for the
events, so much so that Langhelle says, "Technically, it (the LDS
Church) is not a member of the Sea Trek project. However, it would
take an expert to separate the church and project over here."
That involvement may now be giving the Church some negative press in
Norway. Last week Norway's Aftenposten newspaper ran a front page
story on the debts with the headline, "Faith in Mormons lands tall
ships in court," and suggesting that the ships' owners believed that
LDS Church involvement meant they would be paid.
SeaTrek organizer Bill Sadlier says that while the LDS Church wasn't
involved in his organization, it did benefit from the events, and on
that basis he asked the LDS Church for assistance in meeting the
project's $5 million budget. According to Sadlier, the Church was
ready to donate $500,000 when SeaTrek faced a financial crisis while
the ships were in the Canary Islands, but bad press reports in Norway
scuttled the plans. He remains upset that the Church hasn't decided
to help financially, "The church got all the benefits but didn't do
squat," Sadleir told the Salt Lake Tribune. "It has no problem
forking over millions to defend child molesters or build medals
plazas, but they won't help us out with something as positive as Sea
Trek."
LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills confirmed that the Church hasn't
given SeaTrek any financial assistance, "Sea Trek was a private
venture not sponsored by the church. From the outset, the church has
declined all requests from Sea Trek organizers for financial support."
Now the owners of the tall ships claim that they face financial
difficulties themselves if the debts aren't paid. Some crew members
of the ships are being laid off, they report, and Leif Brestrup,
director of the foundation that operates another of the three
Norweigan ships, says his organization is in the red because of
SeaTrek and is having difficulty continuing its operations.
Sadlier dismisses the threat of a court case as bullying, but adds he
is continuing his efforts to raise funds to pay the debt, "The only
way they are going to get paid is if we raise the money." And some
members of the LDS Church in Norway are trying to help. In a letter
he is circulating among Mormons there, Church member Robert Luke of
Bergen, Norway writes, "Let us join hands and pay this debt," Luke
wrote. "The Sea Trek event has done a world of PR good for northern
Europe."
Sources:
Sea Trek Foundation in Troubled Waters
Salt Lake Tribune 24Jan02 N6
By Peggy Fletcher Stack: Salt Lake Tribune
Sea Trek may sail again -- into court
Deseret News 24Jan02 N6
By Lynn Arave: Deseret News staff writer
Norway's Tall Ships take Mormons to court over Sea Trek fiasco
Oslo Norway Post 23Jan02 N6
By Rolleiv Solholm
Faith in the Mormons lands Tall Ships in court
Oslo Norway Aftenposten Nettutgaven 22Jan02 N6
By Nina Berglund
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