Insolvent Kiel cultural ship “Freedom” coming to an end?

Kiel. The guests on board enjoy the weather, ice cream and drinks, and at the weekends Indy bands play – by all appearances, things are going well on the traditional Kiel sailing ship “Freedom”. Behind the sunny backdrop, however, things look bleaker. The bar and bistro ship anchored at the Reventlou Bridge is in insolvency proceedings, the end of which is clearly in sight.

The crew must raise 35,000 euros by the middle of the month to pay off the most urgent debts, otherwise they will lose the ship. The prospects of getting the money are slim. “We earn enough money to keep the business going,” says crew member Samira Kühne. But this cannot cover the debts that arose from the purchase of the ship and the expansion.

Too expensive expansion and an overwhelmed crew

“What broke our financial backbone,” says Kühne, “was the unfinished interior work.” What was installed didn't work (electronics), started to get moldy (insulation) or remained unfinished (bar and stairs). The solar system is no longer hanging in the masts – it was never really in operation because it couldn't be connected to the on-board power supply. All of this was a result of a lack of funds and a lack of expertise on board.

The crew fell out over the problems. About half of them left the project, and none of the founding members remained. There are currently a good dozen members, most of them still relatively new. Samira Kühne is the only one who was there right from the start.

“There were personal differences,” says Kühne. “But of course it's also the situation.” When people quickly start talking about how bad the situation is, it's naturally difficult to motivate yourself to do anything. You wouldn't believe how exhausting it is to keep being positive and welcoming guests when you're on the brink of disaster.”

Donations and grants should fix it

In order to raise the money, they want to start a fundraising campaign. Unfortunately, they don't know exactly how. “We are still waiting for documents from the bank,” says Kühne. “We hope to be able to start in the next few days.”

At the same time, they applied to the city for non-profit status in hopes of receiving “some kind of funding”. “We're still waiting for the result,” says Kühne. As I said, the insolvency deadline ended in mid-September.

Kühne is aware that neither fundraising campaigns nor possible grants will bring in the necessary money in time. “Processes take longer than we would like,” she says. And the crew lacks the necessary experience. “We're doing all this for the first time.” The one person who had knowledge of “such things” disappeared months ago and is no longer reachable, along with important documents.

Perhaps, the “Freedom” crew hopes, the plan would be enough to get an extension. “If that was in the offing, you can of course talk to the insolvency administrator again in a completely different way,” says Kühne.

The next editions are already in sight

If something unexpected does happen, the middle of the month will probably mean the end of “Freedom” in its current form. It would probably be possible to continue until the end of the season. Then it would be over. For Samira Kühne, that's hard to accept. “On the one hand, we have all the bands and initiatives that can perform here and hold events.” And all of that on a sailing ship – that's pretty unique. Then there's the diverse team that earns its money here. And for me personally, 'freedom' is the number one purpose in life.”

Even if a major donor, investor or foundation can be found, the Freedom's ability to float will be regularly tested next year. “That will probably cost several tens of thousands of euros again,” Kühne estimates.

CN