6 months after commencing operations along the Norwegian coast, the Havila Castor ferry was officially named in Alesund (Norway) on Monday, November 21.
Aurora Saevik, the granddaughter of the chairman of the board and main shareholder Per Saevik, served as the ship’s godmother.
Aurora Saevik said she was incredibly proud and happy when her grandfather had asked her if she wanted to be godmother to Havila Castor.
“We, the grandchildren, were allowed to help choose the names of the coastal cruise ships, but I had never imagined standing here today. This will be a life-long memory”.
Havila Castor was named after a star in the Gemini constellation. Pollux, after which the last ship of Havila Voyages is named, is the 2nd star in Gemini (the twins), stars that are historically used for navigation at sea and take ships safely home.
Per Rolf Saevik said they would have liked to have the twin vessel Havila Pollux there as well, but she would have her well-deserved christening in the course of 2023.
“The last week has been important for Havila Voyages as we have now finally christened our first two ships. Now we are looking ahead and are looking forward to Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux starting their operation along the historic coastal route.”
At the beginning of June 2022, the Havila Castor ferry sailed into the world heritage Geirangerfjord for the first time. The voyage was made on pure battery power, silent and emission-free. The event took place 4 years before the requirement of the authorities for emission-free ship operations in Norway's world heritage fjords.
According to CEO Bent Martini, when Parliament introduced legislation for emission-free ships in 2018, many people said that 2026 had been too early and completely impossible. He added they had proved by a good margin that it was possible and that put them at the forefront of development along the Norwegian coast.
Many of the locals made it to Skansekaia in order to witness the christening ceremony of the coastal ship.