Havila Voyages has confirmed that four Norwegian coastal cruises by new ship Havila Polaris have been cancelled.
The cancellations on December 29 plus January 9, 20 and 31 follow a delay in the delivery of the third ship to the company’s Bergen-based fleet.
Everyone who has booked a cruise on the affected departures will be contacted with an offer to move trips to another ship or to a later date. Passengers will also be given the option to cancel bookings free of charge.
Havila has set a deadline for the delivery of Havila Polaris a little over halfway through January in order to start the route from Bergen on February 11.
The arrival of the vessel has been delayed pending clarification regarding the settlement of debts following a positive ruling in the UK High Court earlier in December.
The Norwegian cruise line went to court in London in a payment dispute with subsidiaries of Russian leasing company GTLK over two new ships, which are being completed at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey.
The company is now awaiting clearance for the settlement of debts to the original financing partner before being able to take over Havila Polaris.
It cannot take delivery of Havila Polaris pending clearance of a legal settlement to the blocked account, in line with sanction rules.
Havila managing director Bent Martini said: “The building of Havila Polaris at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey is complete, and we could have brought the ship home in time for start-up on schedule on 29th of December.
“We have to wait until delivery can take place in line with the regulations. While we would like to start operating earlier, there is no alternative if we wish to avoid a further legal dispute. Therefore, we have not yet been able to bring Havila Polaris home.
“It is expected that we will get clarification within the next few weeks. We will work on this through the Christmas period and into the new year, and both hope and expect a solution during January.”
He described the cancellations as “deeply unfortunate”.
“But in a year filled with challenges we could never have foreseen, we have learned to take such setbacks head on,” Martini added.
“We hope for understanding from all concerned. This is not a desirable situation, but it is beyond our control as it is important for us to stay within the legislation.
“We have done everything in our power to get Havila Polaris home in time for the planned start-up, but the legal process is taking longer than both our legal advisers and we could expect.
“We will not give up and will now do everything we can to take delivery of Havila Polaris as soon as possible, to avoid further cancellations.
“There will not be an early Christmas holiday for any of us, and we will come back with an update on progress as soon as we have something new to report.”