Turkey’s Tersan Shipyard looks set to complete the two Norwegian coastal cruise ferries that Havila Kystruten have faced delays at Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Hijos de J Barreras.
Havila Kystruten chairman Per Saevik told Norwegian news media this week that a deal that will see the partially completed hulls of the 15,500-gt cruise ferries Havila Pollux and Havila Polaris towed to Turkey and completed by Tersan is close to finalisation.
Tersan is already building two identical cruise ferries equipped with hybrid LNG and battery power systems. Havila Kystruten, a subsidiary of Saevik's Havila Holding, is planning to use the quartet to fulfil its contract with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications to operate the passenger, mail and cargo service along the Norwegian coast from Bergen to Kirkenes.
The historic route, referred to as the Hurtigruten, is both a lifeline service for remote communities as well as an extremely popular cruise service.
Havila Kystruten’s contract, which broke Hurtigruten AS’s long-held monopoly, goes into effect in January 2021. The company faces severe financial penalties if it is unable to provide the ships as promised.
This scenario looked increasingly likely when work on the two Spanish newbuildings ground to a halt this past summer due to financial and managerial problems at Barreras, Spain’s largest privately owned shipyard.
The orders were officially cancelled by the yard in November, leaving Havilla Kystruten to look for an alternative solution.
The company is not the only cruise operator affected by Barreras’ problems.
The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection has two ultra-deluxe, 298-passenger cruiseships on order at the Vigo-based yard, the first of which was supposed to have gone into service this year.
Its solution has been to team up with two shareholders that own more than 75% of the shipyard and put into place a restructuring program that will both allow it to complete Ritz Carlton’s ships and function in the future.
Exact details on the restructuring program have not been made public, but TradeWinds was told that it included recapitalising the yard and installing a new management team and directors.
