Havila Voyages is gearing up for a cruise powered by liquified biogas.
On November 26, the ship Havila Polaris will embark from near Hammerfest with 200 cubic meters of liquified biogas onboard. On November 30, the ship will arrive in Bergen and will take on another 150 cubic meters.
From there, it will have enough biogas—in combination with its large battery parks—to sail a full, round trip voyage along the coast of Norway.
The biogas will be supplied by Barents Naturgass and Molgas. It results from the breakdown of organic matter like food waste, manure and fish sludge. The biogas will be mixed with the existing natural gas already in Havila Polaris’ tanks.
“With this voyage, we aim to prove that it is possible to operate the entire coastal route climate-neutrally—something we also believe should be the minimum requirement in the next tender period for the coastal route,” says Bent Martini, the company’s chief executive officer. “The amount of biogas we will have on board is significant and will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from this voyage by more than 90 percent.”
The news comes on the heels of a similar announcement from Hurtigruten, which plans to embark on its first climate-neutral biofuel sailing later this month.
On October 29, the battery-hybrid ship MS Richard With will depart from Bergen with its tanks filled with 100 percent advanced biofuel. The ship will sail round trip to Kirkenes along the Norwegian coast, traveling 2485 miles in total.
“It’s very positive that Hurtigruten is now testing solutions that show the authorities don’t need to hold back on climate and environmental requirements in the next tender period,” says Martini. “The more shipping companies that make sustainable choices, the better it is for our coast and the climate. When both companies that currently have contracts with Norwegian authorities demonstrate that stricter requirements are possible, these can be implemented from day one in the next contract period without a gradual phase-in—and we think that’s both positive and the only right thing to do.”
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