EXPLOring new fields
For a brief period in the late 1990s, the Sævik family owned the Simek shipyard in Flekkefjord. In 2000, Havila returned to the shipbuilding industry through its acquisition of the Kværner Leirvik shipyard, which was renamed Havyard Leirvik. The Havyard Group was thereby established.
Havila Supply was acquired by France’s Groupe Bourbon in May 2003. Just a few months later, on 31 July 2003, Havila Shipping ASA was registered. It would become a new ship-owning enterprise.
Havila’s first investment in tourism came the following year. Collaboration with an offshore shipping company in the Faeroes opened the company’s eyes to the potential of this island group in the North Atlantic, and Havila Holding together with local partners acquired a stake in Hafnia Hotel in the capital, Torshavn.
In 2005, Havila Shipping ASA was listed on the stock exchange, and Havyard Group, which had until then focused solely on shipbuilding, acquired a ship design firm. This was the start of what would become a listed maritime technology group.
In 2007, ship and property investments were brought together in Havila Ariel, which was listed on the stock exchange a year later. Some years later still, however, the Sævik family bought out the remaining shareholders and had the company delisted from the stock exchange. Havila Ariel then became the family’s own property investment company.