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Hurtigruten and the Ministry of Transport and Communications agreed on a new agreement whereby Hurtigruten will increase the number of ships in traffic along the coast from two to five starting in January.
Hurtigruten will sail with five ships along the Norwegian coast from January.
Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Published:
– I am happy to finally be able to present positive news for the coastal route. Through constructive negotiations with suppliers, it is now clear that Hurtigruten will sail five ships on the Bergen-Kirkenes route in the first quarter of 2021, says Transport Minister Knut Arild Hareide (KrF) in a press release.
Due to the crown situation and travel restrictions, Hurtigruten has had to drastically reduce its business. Since October, they have had two ships in traffic that have sailed between Bodø and Kirkenes.
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Arrival every other day
Through the new supplemental agreement, the state’s compensation to Hurtigruten will increase by NOK 14.1 million to NOK 67.6 million per month in the first quarter in exchange for the company increasing from two to five vessels in operation.
According to Hurtigruten, the 34 ports along the Bergen-Kirkenes route will call approximately every two days.
– This is incredibly good news for the entire coastline, for local passengers and cargo customers, and not least for several hundred seafarers who have been through uncertainty at home. It will be very good if more colleagues work, says Hurtigruten Group CEO Daniel Skjeldam in a press release.
It is not yet clear which ships Hurtigruten will sail with from January.
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Havila does not navigate
Havila Kystruten has also signed an agreement to navigate the coastal route starting in 2021. They still have ships under construction and due to crown delays the ships have not been ready on time. Thus, Havila does not sail up the coast in the first quarter.
Havila’s compensation will be cut in half in the first quarter of 2021.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications writes that they will continue the dialogue with the players in the future and will return to the operations of the coastal route for the period after March 2021.
