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– We hope to see our boats sail again this summer. But we need more clarification, says CEO Daniel Skjeldam.
Travel giant Gurtigruten has seen 14 of 16 ships docked. The company has laid off nearly 3,000 employees since they had to shut down the entire business in mid-March.
– It is difficult to see stored ships. But right now we have no choice, says CEO Daniel Skjeldam of Hurtigruten.
Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.
Photo: Gunn-Mari Eliseussen / NRK
He says Hurtigruten anticipates a gradual rollout starting in mid-June.
– But for this to be possible, we need to have financial clarifications, says Skjeldam.
Hurtigruten has asked the government for two things:
- That the state buys more capacity on board and compensates for the loss of ticket revenue.
- That Hurtigruten receives a loan through the Government Bond Fund or another loan scheme.
But Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner (H) told NRK that the Government Bond Fund is not intended to be a measure of state aid.
MS Trollfjord in the Geiranger Fjord.
Photo: CONNY WUNSCHE / Hurtigruten
– Do not support individual businesses
– The bond fund will primarily help more people participate in the bond market, says Jan Tore Sanner.
– The fund must not be adapted to individual companies. We have implemented other schemes aimed more at helping companies in crisis.
– The bond fund will primarily help more people participate in the bond market, says Jan Tore Sanner.
Photo: Terje Pedersen
The condition that the bond fund does not involve state aid stems from the law, which a single Storting has agreed to, he explains.
– The return requirement supports only that assumption.
He says comments received by the Finance Ministry show that the measure has worked as planned.
Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam says a startup in June will mean navigating the accounts with red numbers, and that’s why they’ve asked for financial help.
This is how the Hurtigruten will sail this summer
- In scheduled traffic between Bergen and Kirkenes, 9 of the 11 ships will be out of service until at least June 15.
- From mid-June, Hurtigruten expects to gradually increase operations in scheduled traffic. The first scheduled regular departure will be MS Finnmarken from Bergen on June 16.
- Until June 15, the Hurtigruten will continue with an agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Communications with two ships on a specially adapted route between Bodø and Kirkenes, to handle the important cargo and passenger traffic between the ports of northern Norway.
- Hurtigruten’s expedition cruise operations have been temporarily halted. It affects expedition cruises both in and out of Norwegian waters, including along the Norwegian coast and in Svalbard. Among other things, the Alaskan season with MS Roald Amundsen with a hybrid engine has been canceled. The same is the planned navigation of the ship through the Northwest Passage.
- Hurtigruten’s ground operations in Svalbard are also stopped. Hotels, restaurants and experiences are closed, and most employees of the Hurtigruten Svalbard subsidiary are fired. Hurtigruten is working with local and national authorities to open tourist activities in Svalbard this summer.
Source: Hurtigruten
– A deficit summer
– Although we raised the candles in June, we are not out of the crisis. It will be a deficit in a period of transition, says Skjeldam.
Therefore, he is pleased that several politicians have lent their support to the company.
The Center Party, which has demanded that the government defend Hurtigruten, understands that Hurtigruten is not sure if Sanner’s medicine works.
The reason is that the government places high demands on the performance of bond loans.
The Hurtigruten MS Roald Amundsen hybrid boat in Tromsø.
Photo: Jørn Inge Johansen / NRK
– Hurtigruten has a special role in Norway. Ensuring continued operation is very important, Sp Trygve Slagsvold Vedum leader told NRK.
Both the Central Party, the Ap and the Norwegian Seamen’s Association require that the return requirement be removed.
– We have to work very hard. The government has set such strict requirements for repayments that the state should make money on the loan. We believe this is contrary to what the Storting has decided, says Slagsvold Vedum.
Skjeldam, in turn, hopes they can get employees back to work as soon as possible. But then financial solutions must be in place quickly, he says.
– When in place, we can gradually record travel, get our employees back to work, and contribute to more activity in the local business community along the entire coast, Skjeldam says
