Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 06:14 by ce-press
Harstad in Norway has three cruise quays: town centre Larsneset (215m in length with a draught of 7.5m), town centre Seljestad (270m/7m) and Stangnes (120m/11m) which is 5km from the town centre.
The main quay at Larsneset, a 100m-walk from the town centre, will undergo a major development project in 2018-19. It will be extended to about 300m and the draught will be increased to 9m, possibly 10m which will be decided later this year. All the bollards, of 50 to 150t, will be new and all the other facilities will be upgraded. The work is scheduled to be completed in the summer/autumn of 2019.
This year there have been four calls, bringing 2,632 passengers. Next year eight are scheduled bringing 7,251. Newcomers to the port are Saga Pearl 2, Seabourn Quest, TUI Discovery and The World.
There is no dedicated terminal building in Harstad, but Larsneset quay is only metres away from all the town services and amenities including shopping, restaurants and cafes, toilets, wifi, hospital, dentist, churches, sights, tourist information and transportation.
All three quays are fully certified ISPS-quays with fences and gates and can accommodate turn-around operations (customs, luggage, transfer etc).
Additional passenger boarding bridges/gangways can be provided by the port upon request. Shuttle buses can be arranged for calls at Stangnes pier.
Waste can be discharged at all the quays. An external, professional waste handling company provides specialised quayside trucking.
In 2016 and 2017 $1m was invested in providing shorepower at all three quays with facilities at Stagnes being particularly good. At present shorepower is offered to smaller vessels, such as trawlers, and there is not enough power for cruiseships. One of the modules has a maximum capacity of about 1,000 kVA, according to Ivar Hagenlund, port manager Harstad. It is delivered with two drives and two transformers, with the possibility to supply 2 x 400, 440V and 690V and 45 to 65Hz. The power connection is 2 x two shore power connectors (350 Amp each).
Further extensions are being considered under the above development project and dependent on national support from Enova, which is owned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
Northern-Norway’s largest fuel depot is located in Harstad and all fuels can be delivered dockside by trucks or by tanking directly from the depot. The latter is dependent on vessel size and is determined on request.
Fairways and turning basins are fully adequate for the ship sizes destined for Harstad.
In addition Harstad has northern Norway’s largest and most advanced maritime cluster with two shipyards, including the third largest drydock in the country, and expertise in all ship-related services (engineering, documentation, maintenance and repairs).
When it comes to fees, the port’s website www.harstadhavn.no provides a port cost calculator. “Our fees are very competitive so discounts have not been an issue,” commented Ivar Hagenlund, harbour master Harstad . Quay booking should be sent to the harbour watch at havnevakta@harstad.kommune.no.
New flight routes from Harstad/Narvik Evenes airport to north and south Norway have now been established on Wideroe and Fly Viking.
Shore excursion choices include visiting a private house by the sea, a Sami evening experience in lavvo, hiking, spending a day as a Viking (Active Viking), bear dance and a taste of Arctic waltz, beer tasting and gourmet food and a concert/talk given by bassist Knut-Erik Sundqvist in Rokenes 18th century mansion.
