Turkish shipbuilder Tersan has delivered the second out of four LNG-powered coastal cruise ships to Norwegian shipping firm Havila Voyages.
According to a statement by Havila Voyages, the firm took delivery of Havila Castor on April 22.
The newbuild would start sailing the coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes on May 10, about a month later than previously planned.
Havila said in a previous statement that the ship was unable to carry out sea trials due to “challenges with an electric motor”, delaying the delivery.
Havila Castor is identical to its sister ship, Havila Capella. Tersan delivered this vessel in November last year. Besides LNG propulsion, Havila Castor has a battery pack which weighs 86 tons and has an output of 6.1 MWh.
Tersan launched both of these vessels in 2020, after battling for months with the restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The yard is also building two more LNG-powered coastal cruise ships for Havila. These vessels should start operating in the third and the fourth quarter of this year, according to Havila.
Financing issues
Havila’s first LNG-powered vessel, Havila Capela, is currently not operating as the EU had extended sanctions against Russian companies, including GTLK.
GTLK Asia, a Russian-owned leasing company in Hong Kong, funded the LNG-powered Havila Capella.
The firm is also having financing difficulties for the other three vessels, including for Havila Castor as the initial financing could not be completed.
Havila said that Havila Castor has a market value of around 1.2 billion Norwegian Krone ($133 million).
The firm has financed this with equity and a loan of 46 million euros ($49.4 million) from Tersan and the shipyard’s bank. The loan is for a period of 3 months.
“This solution gives us time to find a proper refinancing of the ship, at the same time as it means that our company owns the ship from this date”, Bent Martini, CEO of Havila, said in the statement.
“The solution also means that GTLK has no security in Havila Castor, and the result is that our shipping company owns the ship 100 percent from today’s date”, Martini said.
He added that the firm is already in the process of refinancing the first two vessels as well as the two remaining ships of which it expects to take delivery later this year.
“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”, Martini said.