Struggling Barreras Cancels Havila Newbuilds

According to multiple Spanish media reports, the struggling Barreras shipyard has cancelled both newbuilds for Havila Kystruten, which were set to operate on the Norwegian coast by early 2021.

Meanwhile, a separate bailout plan orchestrated by The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is moving forward, according to reports.

Work on the Havila ships was suspended in August as the yard hit financial problems.

Since then, the management team has been removed and some 1,300-yard workers have not returned to the job site, according to reports.

Havila CEO Arild Myrvoll confirmed that the company had received a cancellation notice and said he interprets that as a sign Barreras is “preparing to liquidate.”

With two other ships under construction at Tersan in Turkey, Havila is now said to be looking for a new shipyard that can handle building two coastal ships to short notice.

Havila will thus be forced to use “replacement vessels” to meet its government-mandated start update in January 2021, when Havila will serve Norway's coastal route with four vessels.