Havila Voyages and HAV Group have formalized their collaboration and are aiming for growth in the next contract period on the Norwegian coastal route.
The companies are aiming for lower emissions and higher energy efficiency for the next generation of coastal route ships, as well as further development of Havila’s fleet.
During Nor-Shipping in Lillestrøm on Wednesday, CEO of HAV Group, Gunnar Larsen, and CEO of Havila Voyages, Bent Martini, presented initial thoughts on continuing their cooperation.
“Even with the current fleet, we can already deliver a minimum of carbon neutrality by using biogas. Today’s ships can be further optimized and operated with green hydrogen or carbon capture with LNGameChanger,” said Martini.
“It’s possible to optimize energy consumption by up to 30 percent on today’s ships,” Martini added.
With ambitions for growth on the Coastal Route, the company will also need to build new ships.
“Together with HAV Group, we’ve begun looking at the next generation of coastal route ships,” Martini added.
Havila said in a press release that details of the potential new ships are not yet finalized, and several solutions have already been discussed.
“Optimizing energy consumption onboard in hotel operations and propulsion systems is good for reducing emissions but also makes sense economically. At the same time, we want ships that, regardless of energy use, produce the lowest emissions possible,” said Martini.
“We have a clear message for Norwegian authorities: much stricter environmental requirements in the next contract. Minimum year-round carbon neutrality on the entire route is our firm recommendation, and we’re ready to deliver on that from day one with our entire fleet.”
At Nor-Shipping, Larsen and Martini invited the Norwegian maritime cluster to work closely together to realize these ambitions.
The HAV Group is working on solutions for the fleet and future coastal route ships.
Gunnar Larsen of HAV Group said: “This is a collaboration we’re truly looking forward to, and as a supplier of maritime solutions together with our subsidiaries, we are confident that we can meet the requirements.”
Larsen also emphasized the importance of cooperation within the maritime cluster in achieving the goals.
