Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2020

5 8 Havila aims to celebrate Norwegian culture by outfitting all of the ships’ onboard spaces with furnishings from Norway-based companies INTERV IEW New arrivals in Norway Sam Ballard asks Arild Myrvoll about Havila Voyages, the new operator that is set to raise eyebrows when it starts service on the Norwegian coast Photo: Havila Voyages H avila might not be a name that you associate with the cruise industry. The company, which was founded in the 1950s, made its name in fishing and oil. However, from January 2021, the company is going to be taking on one of the most established itineraries in Northern Europe: the Norwegian Coastal route. Havila Voyages will begin sailing between Bergen and Kirkenes, after winning a contract with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport that sees Hurtigruten’s monopoly on the route broken up. From January 2021, Havila will operate the 11-day route four times with Hurtigruten filling the remaining seven days, according to reports. Passengers on a Havila cruise will be able to choose from a host of different itineraries – from the full 12-day cruise, which calls at 34 different ports, to shorter itineraries ranging from two to seven days. The company will soon launch a system to book between different ports too. Havila will eventually operate a fleet of four vessels – all built by the Tersan shipyard in Turkey. The first two will be delivered in the beginning of January 2021, while the second two will be delivered a year later. The vessels – named Havila Castor, Havila Capella, Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux – will hold 640 passengers and, according to the line’s CEO, Arild Myrvoll, are the most environmentally friendly vessels to operate on the Norwegian coast. “Our ships and company profile shall be in the lead when it comes to green technology,” he says. “We have prepared our vessels for hydrogen in the future, but the technology is not ready from the time we shall start sailing. The vessels will operate on LNG main engines and large battery packages. The vessels can operate for more than four hours on battery power, which we’ll do when inside the