The deliveries come after the Norwegian cruise company took legal action in London last year to resolve a payment issue with subsidiaries of sanctioned Russian leasing company GTLK relating to the two ships. 

The line won its High Court case in December 2022, but was forced to push back the launch of the two ships due to "unforeseen" delays.

"We have now reached our goal following a process that required a lot of time, resources, and perseverance. In particular, it has demanded a lot of patience from the Norwegian authorities with whom we have an agreement to operate, our customers, coastal communities, our partners, and all employees," said chief executive Bent Martini.

"We remained confident we would reach this moment, even though we have encountered new challenges at every turn. Now that we finally possess our own beautiful and state-of-the-art coastal route ships with spacious cabins and a high level of comfort for everyone on board, it’s a milestone for the shipping company."

Polaris is scheduled to start operations from Bergen on 17 August and will be the first to leave the shipyard, before Polaris follows the same route to operate from Bergen on 23 August.

After Havila Voyages received the required licenses earlier this year to finance its coastal fleet and release the security the original financing partner had in the ships; they have been working to find the right financing partner for the shipping company.

"The four coastal route ships represent significant value, and we wanted to find a financing partner that would give us full ownership of our ships. We now own all our ships ourselves, and with that, we have succeeded in our goal in the refinancing process," said Martini.