Havila Voyages announced on Friday that it has received a license from the Central Bank of Ireland to enable the financing and delivery of its coastal cruise ships Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux to proceed.

The license also allows the company to settle its debts with the original lenders that were Russia-connected.

“The situation we are in is very complex and demanding. The licenses are required for us to legally implement our financing solutions. Despite good assistance from the Norwegian authorities the process has taken longer than we would like. Fortunately, the license from Ireland is now in place, which enables us to legally finance our ships,” said CEO Bent Martini of Havila Voyages in a statement.

The company saidits has also applied for licenses in the UK and the USA, to ensure both British and American investors can participate in the financing. The license from Ireland, and a previously received license from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ensure legal financing from EU countries and Scandinavia.

Havila Voyages has engaged Arctic Securities AS and Fearnley Securities AS as facilitators to assist in the financing process.

“The licenses are crucial for our facilitators to be able to work freely in relevant markets for us to settle our debts to the original lender to a frozen account according to the sanction regulations and releasing the security in the vessels,” explained Martini.

“The ships will be ready for delivery as soon as we have completed the financing process, and we apologize to all affected parties for having to postpone once again,” he continued.

Due to the time-consuming processes, the start-up of operations for Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux will be further delayed.

The start-up date for Havila Polaris is set for 12th of June while Havila Pollux will commence operations on 18th June.