Havilla 6-19 January 2024, 14 January

This morning we reach Havøsund, then continue to Hammerfest. Here we stop for two hours and explore the city in beautiful, cold winter weather.

The most important branch of production is fishing, and previously whaling. In addition, Finnmark University offers young people prospects in numerous vocational training courses.

On the island of Melkøya, off Hammerfest, the international Snøhvit consortium, led by the Statoil-Norsk Hydro Group, has built Europe's largest natural gas liquefaction plant (LNG). This has created around 350 jobs in Hammerfest. From the island of Melkøya, natural gas from the Snøhvit field and other gas fields in the Barents Sea will be transported by tanker to southern Europe and the USA. The plant, whose processes and much of the engineering were supplied from Germany, was completed in autumn 2007, but was not yet fully operational in February 2008 due to technical difficulties. The factory is a symbol of the energy industry's move to the Arctic.

Our ship leaves Hammerfest, which is the northernmost city in the world, in the direction of Øksfjord, Skjervøy, Tromsø Finnsnes. We reach Tromsø at midnight, a great experience to enjoy the entrance from the deck in the moonlight. We use the stay in Tromsø at midnight, almost to ourselves, great photo opportunities, an impressive experience.