On Tuesday, August 1st, the coastal cruise ships Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux were finally delivered to Havila Voyages during an official ceremony at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey. “A milestone for the shipping company,” says CEO Bent Martini.
On Tuesday afternoon Turkish time, the Norwegian flag and the shipping company flag of Havila Voyages were finally raised on the coastal cruise ships Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux, which are located at the Tersan shipyard outside Yalova in Turkey.
“We have now reached our goal following a process that required a lot of time, resources, and perseverance. In particular, it has demanded a lot of patience from the Norwegian authorities with whom we have an agreement to operate, our customers, coastal communities, our partners, and all employees,” says CEO Bent Martini.
“We remained confident we would reach this moment, even though we have encountered new challenges at every turn. Now that we finally possess our own beautiful and state-of-the-art coastal route ships with spacious cabins and a high level of comfort for everyone on board, it’s a milestone for the shipping company.”
Osman Nurettin Paksu, the chairman of the board of Tersan Shipyard, was also present at the ceremonies.
“It is a fantastic day for us celebrating the deliveries of the beautiful coastal passenger ships to Havila Voyages. Despite challenges for both us and Havila Voyages during the construction process of these impressive ships, we are very happy today to have delivered four marvelous ships . These are the most modern and environmentally friendly ships on the Norwegian coastal route, and we are proud that these four sister ships carry the name of Tersan Shipyard along the beautiful Norwegian coast. We also thank Havila Voyages and its cooperative representatives for their support and efforts who made these deliveries possible, it has been pleasure working with them.” says Paksu.
“It’s gratifying to hear about the positive feedback Havila Voyages receives from passengers traveling along the historic route with Havila Capella and Havila Castor. With four magnificent ships in operation, even more people will have the opportunity to experience these ships in their fantastic surroundings.”
In recent years, many employees of Havila Voyages have been involved in and contributed to the construction process in Turkey, and Martini emphasises the importance of this.
“We want to thank Tersan Shipyard for their excellent cooperation and great understanding of our challenges over the last few years. They have built four fantastic ships, and without them, as well as other suppliers and partners, we would not be standing here today,” says Martini.
“In addition, we have had our own employees down here in Turkey throughout the entire process. Having our own people close by has been absolutely crucial for us, and I thank each and every one of them for their dedication and hard work.”
Havila Polaris is scheduled to start operations from Bergen on August 17th and will be the first to leave the Tersan Shipyard. Not long after, Havila Polaris is planned to follow the same route before she starts operating from Bergen on August 23rd.
