The company apologizes to the passengers.
–
The passenger ship MS “Havila Capella” was to sail from Bergen on Tuesday night. At midnight, the ship was still at the quay in the city.
Havila’s communications manager, Lasse A. Vangstein, now confirms that it is due to sanctions against the ship’s Russian lender GTLK.
– There is an uncertainty about the insurance coverage which means that the departure is postponed. It is a situation that has arisen as a result of sanctions against the leasing company that has financed Havila, Vangstein tells BT.
Due to the sanctions, any payments to GLTK go to a blocked bank account, Vangstein adds.
In contact with the authorities
The EU has justified the sanctions against GTLK with the company “financially supporting and benefiting from the Russian government, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine”.
Vangstein adds that they are in contact with the Norwegian authorities to clarify the situation.
– It is deeply regrettable for all our passengers who were looking forward to traveling. It is a situation that is beyond our control, says Vangstein.
“Havila Capella” left Ålesund on Monday night and arrived in Bergen at 13 o’clock on Tuesday, and was actually to sail on at 20.30 on Tuesday night.
– Will break Russian ties
He says that they are working to find a solution soon, and want to take care of the passengers. Vangstein emphasizes that the company is Norwegian, and that the ship is Norwegian for all practical purposes.
– We have supported the sanctions against Russian companies. We are now working to refinance this ship to break Russian ties, he says.
GTLK is one of the world’s largest players in aircraft leasing. At the end of 2020, the portfolio of 70 passenger aircraft and 19 tankers was valued at $ 4.5 billion. The customer list includes airlines such as Emirates, EasyJet, SunExpress and Aeroflot.
–– Got a message over the speaker
Terje Albregtsen is on board the ship with his wife Magnhild Bergheim. They come from Molde and were going on a round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back.
He says that he started to stutter when the ship was still standing at 22 o’clock.
– Then there was information over the loudspeaker that the ship was waiting for papers from the authorities, he says.
In addition, the passengers did not receive more information, says Albregtsen. Nevertheless, he suspected that the delay had something to do with the sanctions.
– That’s what I thought. It smelled early on that it had such a connection, he says.
It is uncertain whether Albregtsen and the other passengers will leave tomorrow.
– In the meantime, it’s just a matter of sleeping well, there is nothing more you can do, he says.
According to the plan, GTLK was to finance all four ships Havila Kystruten will deploy between Bergen and Kirkenes. «Havila Capella» is the only one in traffic now. The other ship, “Havila Castor”, is scheduled to be put into service from May 10, according to NRK.
