By Elissa Garay
Cruises have gotten flack for their large environmental footprint. Now, Norwegian newcomer Havila Voyages is breaking the mold on sustainable ship technology with its fleet of four plug-in hybrid cruise ships, including the 2023-debuted Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux. Offering mod Nordic design, port- and seasonally driven Norwegian cuisine (everything from king crab to cloudberries), and nature-centric excursions (think Arctic dog sledding and sea eagle safaris) along a historic cargo-ferry route on Norway’s western coastline, the fledgling cruise company’s identical 640-passenger ships stand out most for their groundbreaking batteries. Billed as the largest on any passenger ship, the 86-ton batteries allow for both hybrid propulsion (paired with liquefied natural gas, or LNG), as well as battery-only power for up to four hours of fully emissions- and noise-free cruising. That may not sound like very long, but with a 6.1-megawatt-hour capacity—the equivalent of approximately 600 Teslas, according to Havila—it’s a huge leap forward for moving vessels of this size, and virtually unheard of in the cruising sector. Plus, the batteries can be recharged and power the ships while in port thanks to Norway’s robust hydropower grid. The innovation is essentially a license to operate: come 2026, Norway will ban fossil fuel-powered vessels from its UNESCO World Heritage-protected fjords. Havila ultimately plans for zero-emissions operations, phasing out LNG for renewable biogas (fuel made from organic waste) by 2028, and embracing fuel alternatives like hydrogen by 2030.
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