Havila Kystruten has cancelled a voyage of Havila Capella that was due to depart on 12 April as the company is working to severe links with Russian finance, it said.
The 15,800 gross ton ship is financed by GTLK group, a Russian company that is on the list of EU’s sanctions. Havila Capella had to cancel the voyage due to insurance concerns that have arisen from the finance. The ship had been scheduled to undertake a voyage long the west coast of Norway to Kirkenes and back to Bergen.
“We will now continue the dialogue with the authorities, insurance companies and finally refinancing of Havila Capella. We will sail again”, said Bent Martini, CEO of the Norwegian company.
Havila Capella is the only ship of the company that has been financed by GTLK. The other three newbuildings are still the property of the Tesan shipyard in Turkey that is building them.
“Now we are looking forward to the takeover of Havila Castor, with which we plan to start sailing from Bergen on 10th of May. With a solution for Capella and Castor in operation, we will be well equipped for a glorious summer along the Norwegian coast. Despite the challenges we have encountered along the way, I choose to look positively going forward. We look forward to showing our fantastic ships to even more passengers in the time to come,” Martini said in a statement.
"Even though we have paid rent to a Russian-owned company, the ship is Norwegian for all practical purposes. We have assessed what has now happened as a possible outcome and have for a period worked to find alternative financing for our coastal cruise ships,” he noted.