We are in the golden age of cruising. Everyone from wildlife lovers to solo travellers have been proclaiming their love for the floating hotels. Heck, there’s even a Wednesday cruise in London.
And it looks like cruising could soon be done guilt-free, environmentally speaking, thanks to Havila Voyage. The Norwegian company has recently revealed plans to launch the world’s longest climate-neutral cruise this year. By 2030, it aims to achieve zero carbon emissions.
Making climate history
This is all achieved by using large battery packs and biogas to fuel the ship. Havila Voyages aren’t novices either – last year they made history by becoming the world’s first cruise company to sail into the Geirangerfjord UNESCO World Heritage Site emission-free (and silently).
Covering 9,260 km (5753 miles) of Norway’s coastline, so beautiful it looks like it’s CGI, the new climate-neutral cruise will travel from Bergen, known for its UNESCO-listed warehouses, to Kirkenes. Passengers will spend 12 days visiting breathtaking fjords, dramatic waterfalls and the Arctic Circle. They might even see the Northern Lights.
For a better idea of what to expect, Havila Voyage’s current seven-day cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes also includes stops in Tromsø, a city renowned for fishing and polar expeditions, and Trondheim, home to gothic masterpiece, Nidaros Cathedral.
The first test drive of the climate-neutral cruise is slated for this autumn, and Havila Voyage CEO Bent Martini is confident about its future roll-out. ‘We are in dialogue with suppliers to secure sufficient volumes to be able to fill the tanks 100 per cent with biogas, and we believe we will succeed,’ he says. We can certainly get on board with that confidence.
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