The Havila Capella has been delivered to Havila Voyages, according to a press release. The 468-passenger ship – the first of the four sister ships to sail on the Norwegian coast – will kick off her program on the traditional coastal route from Bergen on Dec. 1.
“We are many who have waited a long time for this, and now the first ship is finally in our hands and we will start preparing for setting sail towards Norway,” the CEO of Havila Voyages, Bent Martini (pictured on the left above), said.
Tersan, the Turkish shipyard that is building the Havila ships, was also joyous about the occasion.
“The four coastal cruise ships for Havila Voyages are a special assignment for us. We have faced various challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to delays, but we have learned a lot from the first ship and expect more efficient construction of the next ones. And today we are looking forward to seeing the good result and the beautiful ship that the Havila Capella has become,” Mehmet Gazioğlu, Tersan’s general manager, said.
The Capella will soon set sail from Turkey to Bergen. To make this voyage more efficient, both workers from the yard and subcontractors will be either partially or fully involved in it.
In addition, Havila Voyages has its own employees who are preparing the ship for sailing along the Norwegian coast. When the ship arrives in Bergen, even more people will be onboard to familiarize themselves and get ready for the first sailing.
“The Havila Capella is a large hotel with 179 cabins, several restaurants and large common areas that will be made ready in a very short time in addition to crew and hotel employees to get to know the ship, systems and each other. But we have got off to a good start already, and we are confident that this will go well,” Martini said.
He, along with several other people in Havila management, will establish a temporary office onboard the ship when it arrives in Norway.
“We do this both because we need to have short distances because we can be helpful and give an extra hand and of course also because this is something we want to be a part of. It is of course a special event to take part in, when starting up the first ship in the largest tourism investment we have seen along the coast,” Martini explained.
The first Bergen-Kirkenes round trip will depart from Bergen on Dec. 1. According to the press release, the ship’s food and interior reflect the coast they travel through. The cabins are large and the common areas are “tailored to enjoy the view.” For example, glass roofs in some of the latter are designed to view the northern lights sky and midnight sun. A long, outdoor promenade is “perfect for a walk on the sea,” Havila wrote.
Martini said that he is looking forward to showing the ship to people along the coast and to the passengers who will travel on it.
“We are really looking forward to getting the Havila Capella into service, and on the journey from Turkey to Norway we will post movies and photos on social media where you can meet the crew and get several sneak peeks from onboard,” he noted.
Havila said that the coast and nature will benefit from the environmental friendliness of its ships. The ship stays at the quay for a couple of weeks in Bergen, then it is operated using the batteries onboard and clean hydropower.
“It gives zero emissions and no smoke that settles over Bergen city center. And that is just the beginning of Havila Voyages’ history with environmentally friendly voyages along the coast where we with the world’s largest battery pack onboard can go without noise and emissions for up to four hours,” noted Martini.
