Havila Voyages

Havila Voyages (website) is a new cruise travel brand and subsidiary fully owned by the Norwegian company Havila Shipping ASA (Havila Kystruten AS/shipowner, founded in 2003, headquartered in Fosnavåg, Norway). As of 2021, Havila Shipping owns and operates 23 marine vessels, including 10 Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs, serving offshore oil and gas platforms), 6 Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels (AHTS, primarily built for oil rigs), 2 Emergency Response and Rescue Vessels (ERRVs, providing assistance to offshore installations), 4 Offshore Subsea Construction Vessels (OSCVs, serving the offshore oil and gas industry and wind farms), and 4 cruiseferries (for the Norwegian Coastal Express service).

Havila's newbuilds include 5 maritime support vessels and 4 cruise ships (LNG-powered hybrid ferries with alternative battery power). Havila Kystruten's main market includes Northern Europe (Baltic/North Sea) and the Asia Pacific region.

• The OSCVs are equipped with larger cranes, helipads, and dynamic positioning systems.
• The North Sea-based AHTS vessels have power outputs between 9-18.6 MW (12K-25,000 HP) each.
• The PSVs serve offshore installations, delivering goods, water, drilling mud, chemicals, and other materials.
• The ERRVs are rescue and recovery boats providing security services for oil installations (oil spills, fire protection, etc.).
• Some vessels are also available for bareboat chartering (hiring without administration or technical maintenance).

All Havila vessels are Norway-flagged, and most are registered in Bergen.

Havila Kystruten is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (since 2005) and is currently led by the company's founders—brothers Njal Saevik (Havila Shipping ASA's CEO) and Per Saevik (Havila Holding's Chairman).

The CEO of Havila Kystruten AS is Bent Martini. The CEO of Havila Voyages is Arild Myrvoll.

Havila Voyages' main competitor in the Norwegian coastal cruiseferry market is Hurtigruten.

In April 2023, Havila Voyages obtained the necessary licenses (from Ireland's Central Bank) to finance its coastal fleet and release the security held by the original financing partner, GTLK (EU-sanctioned due to the Russia-Ukraine war). The required financing was secured in June-July by raising EUR 305 million from HPS Investment Partners LLC (2007-founded, NYC-headquartered American investment firm). Additionally, Havila Voyages' principal owners and investors raised EUR 65 million in additional equity, and Havila Holding AS provided a loan of EUR 20 million. This enabled the delivery (in August) of the second pair of ferries, Polaris and Pollux, from Turkey's Tersan Shipyard.

The HAVILA Cruise Brand

Originally, Havila Voyages (the trademarked brand) planned to begin Norwegian coastal operations in January 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the service was rescheduled to start in Q2 2021 (by May). Eventually, the brand's inauguration was postponed to Q4 2021, with the Maiden Voyage (Havila Capella from Bergen) scheduled for December 1st.

On March 23, 2018, Norway's Ministry of Transportation and Communications divided the "Norwegian Coastal Express" ferry service funding between Hurtigruten and Havila Kystruten.

The Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen route, with its 34 ports, is served year-round by a total of 11 vessels—7 from Hurtigruten and 4 from Havila newbuilds. Hurtigruten has operated this service since 1893.

The Norwegian Government's annual subsidy for this regularly scheduled ferry service is NOK 788 million (~EUR 77M / ~USD 92M). The Government's ferry contracts are fixed for a 10-year period, securing a minimum annual revenue of NOK 285 million (~EUR 28M/ ~USD 33M).

In late December 2018, it was announced that Enova (Norwegian government agency) would provide NOK 88 million (USD 10.1 million) in financial support for Havila Kystruten's newbuilds (or NOK 22 million per vessel).

In mid-September 2022, Havila Kystruten signed term sheets with lenders for the refinancing of its cruise fleet and set dates for the start of operations for Pollux and Polaris. The financing totaled USD-EUR 370 million (GBP 325 million), covering payments to Turkey's Tersan Shipyard for the delivery of both vessels, as well as the redemption of existing debt to GTLK (Russia's largest leasing company) related to all four vessels in the fleet.

In October 2023, Matthew Valentine (Havila Voyages' Head of Sales for the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Europe) announced that approximately 12% of the company's revenue comes from North America. To grow its cruise shipping business, Havila introduced the "Northern Lights Promise" (October 1st through March 31st), which guarantees a free one-way cruise (northbound or southbound coastal itinerary) if passengers do not see the aurora borealis during their voyage.

In May 2024, Matthew Valentine was promoted to Head of Global Sales, reporting directly to the company's CSO/Chief Sales Officer, Johanna Hansli.

Targeting international tourists, Havila also plans to introduce hop-on/hop-off cruises (Norwegian coastal voyages with land stays) as well as B2Bs/back-to-back cruises, where tourists disembark from a Havila ship, spend a few days ashore, and then board another Havila ship to continue their Norwegian vacation.

HAVILA's Cruise Ship Technology

Havila Shipping ordered 4 new cruiseferries (Havyard 923-class sisterships) specifically designed for the "Norwegian Coastal Express" service.

The ships are LNG-powered hybrids (with alternative battery power) and have a passenger capacity of 640 (179 cabins). The design was created by Havyard Ship Technology AS (a subsidiary of Havyard Group ASA), a Norwegian maritime company founded in 2000, which owns Loland Verft in Leirvik, Norway).

The shipbuilding cost was approximately EUR 200 million (~USD 230 million) per unit. The shipbuilders were Barreras Shipyard in Vigo, Spain (for Capella and Castor) and Tersan Shipyard in Yalova, Turkey (for Polaris and Pollux).

Rolls-Royce Marine was contracted to provide the newbuilds' power plants and propulsion units. The equipment includes 2 dual-fuel engines, 4 Bergen gas engines (two 9-cylinder, plus two 6-cylinder, all IMO Tier 3 compliant), 2 LNG tanks (with bunkering systems), 2 LNG fuel systems, and control and safety systems. The propulsion system, also manufactured by Rolls-Royce, includes 2 Azipull thrusters (with Permanent Magnet drive motors), Neptune 200 stabilizers, and tunnel thrusters (which allow for a slimmer hull shape and better energy efficiency with lower noise and vibration levels). The LNG fuel systems are separate, custom-designed, and serve both machine rooms (front and aft).

In late February 2019, Havila Shipping contracted Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine to install its EMS (Energy Management System) on 9 Havila vessels, including 4 AHTS vessels, 4 PSVs, and 1 RRV. Rolls-Royce's EMS, introduced in November 2017, allows the crew to monitor fuel consumption in real-time and make adjustments to reduce it, resulting in up to 20% annual fuel savings.

Also in late February 2019, the Canadian stock-listed company Corvus Energy (headquartered in Richmond, BC) signed a contract with NES (Norwegian Electric Systems) for the delivery and installation of the world's largest ship battery package (ESS). The Orca ESS (battery pack) has a capacity of 6.1 MWh (megawatt-hours), double the capacity of the largest battery-packed electric ferries. The batteries allow for approximately 4 hours of running solely on electric power, and the system is combined with hybrid gas-electric propulsion. The powerplant consists of 4 LNG-powered marine engines (per vessel) with a combined output of 7.76 MW.

In early April 2019, Havila Kystruten and Norwegian company Kongsberg Maritime signed a 10-year contract (NOK 150 million / USD 17.6 million) for "Power-by-the-Hour" service for the new vessels. This service, introduced in 2017 with NorLines (a Norwegian coastal shipping and logistics company), gives Kongsberg full responsibility for service planning and performance.

• Under this agreement, the shipowner Havila transferred all responsibility for service planning and performance to Kongsberg (the vessel equipment supplier).
• The shipowner pays a fixed charge per hour of operation per vessel.
• Kongsberg monitors equipment in real-time from land-based control centers (collecting data from shipboard sensors), where engineers can remotely access the equipment and carry out services or send out service staff to assist.
• The "Power-by-the-Hour" package also includes the ship's planned drydock/wetdock maintenance.
• Kongsberg's equipment package includes the propulsion system (Azipull thrusters with Permanent Magnet drive motors), tunnel thrusters, stabilizers, and LNG systems (including four Rolls Royce-made Bergen C26-33L gas engines).

Company Changes

In July 2021, Havila Kystruten successfully completed a private placement of new shares (17.65 to 19.65 million) at NOK 25.50 (EUR 2.5 / USD 2.97) for gross proceeds of NOK 500 million (EUR 48.97 million / USD 58.16 million).

• The July 2021 private stock shares sale was managed by two Oslo-based brokerage and investment firms (Fearnley Securities, SpareBank 1 Markets).
• Of all the NOK 500 million in shares, NOK 232.5 million were purchased by 5 investors: Paladin Asset Management (NOK 82.5 million / 3.23 million shares), Nordea Investment Management (NOK 50 million / 1.96 million shares), Farvatn Capital (NOK 50 million / 1.96 million shares), Verdipapirfondet Fondsfinans Norge (NOK 25 million / 0.98 million shares), and MP Pensjon PK (NOK 25 million / 0.98 million shares).
• Havila Kystruten entered into customary arrangements with these investors to restrict their ability to issue, sell, or dispose of the shares for 12 months (through July 2022) without the prior written consent of the company's managers.
• Havila Kystruten remains privately owned, with the majority stakeholder (through Havila Holding) being the Saevik family.

Since July 28, 2021, Havila has been listed on Euronext NV (operating stock exchanges in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Dublin, Lisbon, and Oslo). The company also planned for a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

In June 2022, DNV (Høvik, Norway-based ship registrar and classification society) awarded HAV Group ASA approval for a high-capacity hydrogen-based power system for cruise ships, allowing the company to enter the final design stage. The technology uses liquefied hydrogen (onboard storage) in combination with fuel cells. This technology was developed by the Norwegian company HAV Hydrogen AS as part of its FreeCO2ast project (budgeted NOK 95 million / ~EUR 9.4 million / ~USD 10.1 million). When completed, the hydrogen energy system will be retrofitted on two Havila cruiseferries (Capella and Castor).

(Coronavirus Crisis) Passenger Shipping Pause 2020-2021

Despite the global Coronavirus crisis, Hurtigruten did not suspend its Norwegian Coastal fleet's passenger shipping (ferry) operations, but boarding was only allowed for passengers who had not been outside Norway for at least 14 days prior to departure.

In mid-October 2020, the 2020-2021 Antarctica cruise program (October-March) was canceled, which affected Hurtigruten Expedition's ships Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Spitsbergen, and Fram. Hurtigruten planned to restart Norwegian Coastal cruises with all seven ships in July 2021.

On May 11, 2020, Hurtigruten announced plans to "gradually restart" the Norwegian ferry services (on the Norwegian Coastal Express Route / Bergen-Kirkenes) in mid-June. The first was scheduled for MS Otto Sverdrup (formerly Finnmarken) leaving on June 16th from Bergen. With Otto Sverdrup, Hurtigruten became the world's first cruise company to resume operations. Two cruiseferries (Richard With, Vesteralen) remained operational but passenger-free, transporting only goods (including medical supplies and provisions) to Norwegian destinations affected by travel restrictions.

Havila Voyages operates four identically designed cruiseferries – the sister ships Havila Capella (2021), Havila Castor (2022), Havila Polaris (2023), and Havila Pollux (2023).

The following itinerary map shows the Norwegian Coastal Express (ferry route) operated by Hurtigruten and Havila Kystruten (since 2021).

The table below displays the 11-night / 12-day "Classic Norwegian Coastal Voyage" round trip from Bergen.

• The 12-day "Round Voyage" prices (in 2021) started at approximately GBP 950 (~EUR 1120 / USD 1280) per person with double occupancy.
• The 7-day "Voyage North" itinerary (Bergen to Kirkenes) prices started at approximately GBP 660 pp (~EUR 780 / USD 890).
• The 6-day "Voyage South" itinerary (Kirkenes to Bergen) prices started at approximately GBP 570 pp (~EUR 680 / USD 770).

Godspeed!