The coastal cruise ship Havila Capella is stranded in Bergen due to the sanctions against Russia, which creates uncertainty about the insurance coverage, according to the company.
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The passenger ship arrived from Ålesund to Bergen a little after 12 o’clock on Tuesday and was scheduled to sail from Bergen on Tuesday night and further along the Norwegian coast.
In a stock exchange announcement late Tuesday night, the company announced that the ship was not allowed to continue sailing as a result of the sanctions against Russia.
– Due to uncertainty related to the insurance coverage, Havila Kystruten postponed the departure to Havila Capella from Bergen on Tuesday night. The situation has arisen as a result of sanctions against the leasing company that has financed Havila Capella. Havila Kystruten has established contact with the Norwegian authorities to get a quick clarification of the situation, it was said in the stock exchange announcement.
It was Bergens Tidende who first wrote about the case.
232 passengers
On Wednesday morning, communications manager Lasse Vangstein informs NTB that the ship is still at the quay, and that the situation is still unclear.
– The ship is still in Bergen. We are waiting for clarifications so we can sail north, but we still do not know when this will happen, he says at 9 o’clock on Wednesday.
He says there are 232 passengers on board the ship. These slept on the ship last night and are taken care of on board, Vangstein states.
– Passengers receive food service and ongoing information. We are now considering setting up some buses for them so that they can see a bit of Bergen, as it was a slightly longer stay for them here than planned, says the communications consultant.
– Intense meeting activities
The ship operates the Bergen-Kirkenes coastal route, where the company Havila Kystruten shares the tender with Hurtigruten.
It is the Russian leasing company GTLK, which was to be the owner of four Coastal Route ships, which is affected by the sanctions against Russia. Havila emphasizes that they support the sanctions, and that they are working to refinance the ship to break Russian ties.
Vangstein says Kystruten is in intense meetings with the authorities in the hope of resolving the situation that has arisen with Havila Capella.
– There are several agencies involved, both state and others who must talk together and find out how to interpret the sanctions regulations. Then we hope they have the same interpretation as us, so that we can sail today as planned, says Vangstein.
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