HAVILA BEACH ROUTE: According to a press release from Havila Kystruten, Proactima AS has conducted a risk analysis for the car transport. Based on this, Havila Kystruten decided that only cars and motorized vehicles that run on fossil fuels could be transported by company ships, at certain ports along the coastal route.

This means electric, hybrid and hydrogen cars cannot be carried on board.

The Havila Kystruten is equipped with the largest battery pack in the world on a passenger ship, and is the most environmentally friendly ship to ply the littoral. Havila Kystruten CEO, Bent Martini, understands that questions may be raised about why greener vehicles cannot be carried on board.

– This is a pure safety assessment, and the conclusion of the risk analysis indicates that the likelihood of a fire in the fossil vehicle will be manageable by the systems and crew we have in place, he explained in a press release.

– Danger to people and ships

– A possible fire in an electric, hybrid or hydrogen car would require outside rescue efforts and could endanger passengers and the ship. We take safety seriously, and this is certainly a risk we would not want to take under any circumstances, says Martini.

In his press release, Martini also explained that Havila Kystruten will continue to try to find good solutions that can minimize the risks of transporting this type of vehicle in the future.

– The most important thing for us is to ensure safety. Our boats are built with their own battery packs, and installed according to current requirements for fire safety on board. This meant our batteries were segregated into isolated, fire-resistant rooms, with a dedicated fire protection system, he said.

Just the whole stretch of Bergen and Kirkenes

Furthermore, the company has decided that it will only do the boarding and alighting of private vehicles in Bergen and Kirkenes, except for service vehicles for personnel performing the necessary work on company ships and emergency vehicles. This also assumes that this is a pure fossil car.

– The capacity of vehicles on board is limited, based on the need for space in the hold for the contract transportation of other cargo. Tests over the past year have also shown that we are experiencing challenges at several ports based on tidal variations. We don’t want to risk damage to the vehicle or ship when handling private vehicles, explained Martini.

– We are fully aware that there are certain expectations, especially from coastal communities, that ships along the coastal route must assist in the transportation of private motorized vehicles between ports. In fact, in the agreement with the Ministry of Transportation, ships crossing the coastal route are not required to transport private cars, he concluded.