Havila Kystruten takes delivery of second eco-friendly hybrid cruise ship

Norwegian shipping company Havila Kystruten has taken delivery of its second eco-friendly hybrid-powered cruise ship Havila Castor at Tersan shipyard in Turkey.

According to the company, the ship is expected to arrive in Bergen around 5 May and start sailing the Bergen-Kirkenes coastal route on 10 May.

Havila Castor features a full 86-ton battery pack which has an output of 6.1 MWh. The ship is said to be able to sail for up to four hours on pure battery power, completely emission-free.

In addition, the vessel runs on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which reduces CO2 emissions by around 25% and NOx emissions by up to 90%.

Like its sister ship Havila Capella, Havila Castor is also built to run on the fuel of the future such as liquid biogas (LBG) which can be used immediately and mixed into the LNG tank. the shipping company explains.

Moreover, the systems onboard the ships are prepared to use hydrogen or ammonia as fuel in the future.

As explained, Havila Castor has a market value of around NOK 1.2 billion (around $130.8 million) and is financed with equity and a loan of €46 million (approximately $49 million) from Tersan shipyard and the shipyard’s bank. The loan is for a period of 3 months.

The initial financing of the ship could not be carried out as the leasing company’s lack of financing of the delivery term has resulted in Havila Kystruten being referred to take over the ship by means of alternative financing.

“The solution also means that GTLK has no security in Havila Castor, and the result is that our shipping company owns the ship 100% from today’s date”, said Bent Martini, CEO of Havila Kystruten.

Havila Castor is owned by the company HK Ship V AS, a 100% owned subsidiary of Havila Kystruten Operations AS.

Martini further stated that the company is already in the process of refinancing Havila Castor and the two remaining ships that will be delivered later this year, as well as Havila Capella.

“The largest challenge is of course Havila Capella since we lease it from GTLK Asia, which is now sanctioned. We work with solutions here as well, to cut all ties to Russian and sanctioned companies”.

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