HURTIGRUTEN’S Sea Zero project to build a ship capable of emission-free propulsion (CW 26 Mar) remains on track to debut by 2030, chief executive officer Hedda Felin has confirmed.
Visiting Australia for the first time since 2024, the Hurtigruten head said the next two years will be crucial to the project’s on-time realisation, as the line searches for financing for the ship.
“The project is [going] exactly according to plan, so it’s all progressing well,” she told CW.
“The next two years, that’s when we need to discuss financing, investment decisions, building, so that remains to be seen,” Felin added.
Sea Zero will be built at Vard shipbuilding in Norway, with Felin saying the country’s government has been involved with the project for its duration thus far, and that future federal funding would be a key lever to its on-time completion.
She said Hurtigruten has tested a pilot of the project, which worked better than anticipated.
The project is built in components which have been independently worked on, allowing Hurtigruten to individually plug them into a ship as needed.
Since Hurtigruten’s announcement of the project, a number of other cruise lines have subsequently launched similar concepts, including Ponant (CW 09 May) and Viking (CW 09 Apr).
Felin said she is pleased Hurtigruten has inspired others to strive for net-zero sailing.
“That’s fantastic, I think that’s the right thing…it’s better if the industry as a whole will move,” she added. MS
Pictured with Felin is managing director APAC Damian Perry.
