This is the ambitious goal of the enthusiasts behind the Stad ship tunnel. One of them is 81-year-old Per Sævik. The man behind Havila Kystruten is smiling and in a good mood. He wanders around the bridge in his new ship, the Havila Castor. Last week, a conference was held on the ship about the Stad ship tunnel. Usually the ship runs in regular traffic from Bergen to Kirkenes. Then the Stadhavet must be crossed. – The ship tunnel, Selja Kloster and Stadtplatået could become the North Cape of Western Norway. In terms of the market, one can hardly value Stad ship tunnel highly enough, he says. The 81-year-old has built up three supply management teams, has sat in the Storting for KrF and was mayor in his home municipality of Herøy. Today he owns, among other things, reiarlaga Fjord1 and Havila Kystruten. OPTIMIST: Skipper Per Sævik believes the Stad skip tunnel can be a huge success for tourism in North-West Norway. Here he is on the bridge in the new ship Havila Castor. Photo: Bård Siem / news Wants experience center and hotel Kristian Jørgensen from Fjordtours is also positive about the ship tunnel. – Simply digging a hole through the mountain is of course not a success. But it can be successful if you design it spectacularly and sell it in the right way, says the former CEO of FjordNorge. Jørgensen wants to use the ship tunnel as a catalyst to make the area around Stad become the new major travel destination in Norway. – Why can’t the West Cape get at least as strong a position as the North Cape, he asks. Experience centres, large hotels and a well-developed fast ferry connection are a prerequisite for success, believes Jørgensen. – Of course it will cost money, but financially strong people will join if they believe in the project, he says. Stad ship tunnel will run from Kjødepollen to Moldefjorden and will be 1.7 kilometers long. 81 percent of today’s ship traffic will be able to use the tunnel. The tunnel will not be user-financed, which means free passage. Photo: Kystverket / Snøhetta Important for safety The most important argument for the ship tunnel is to avoid the very weather-exposed and dangerous section past Stad. The combination of wind, current and waves makes the stretch particularly demanding to sail in. Since the Second World War alone, 34 people have died on Stadhavet. With a well-developed fast boat connection, the ship tunnel will tie Ålesund and Florø closer together. To a common agricultural and labor market. The journey time will be approximately two hours. Large dimensions The Ship Tunnel is estimated to cost well over NOK 3 billion and the project was approved by the Storting last year. The tunnel will be 1.7 kilometers long and is designed for ships with a width of 21.5 metres, a height of 33 meters and a depth of eight metres. The plan is to start the physical work in 2024. HUGE DIMENSIONS: Compared to a normal car tunnel, the Stad ship tunnel will be very large. Higher than the town hall in Ålesund and almost as high as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Photo: Kystverket / Kystverket – Increasing need for tunnel Coastal director Einar Vik Arset believes the ship tunnel will be very important. – Forecasts of more frequent extreme weather increase the need for the tunnel, he says. The tunnel will also reduce fuel consumption a good deal because the consumption of diesel increases significantly in high seas. And he believes it is important to make the tunnel attractive to tourists. – Our main tasks are mainly related to safety at sea, but we must not forget tourism. Recordings about making the tunnel more attractive are super relevant, he says. IMPORTANT: Stad’s ship tunnel will make sailing past Stad much safer, says coastal director Einar Vik Arset. Photo: Bård Siem / news Can be postponed indefinitely Despite the fact that the tunnel was approved by the Storting last year, it is not certain that it will come as planned. The geopolitical situation, with strong price growth and large additional government costs, means that both the Stad ship tunnel and other transport projects can be postponed indefinitely. The counter forces are also strong. The tunnel was referred to in a leading position in Aftenposten last week as “a good idea” and that the project “particularly stands out” to be cut. It is also shown that safety at sea has steadily improved, and that there are hardly any serious accidents anymore near Stad. – Appointment will be a scandal Storting representatives Alfred Bjørlo (V) and Erling Sande (Sp) think this is Oslo arrogance of the worst kind. – It should be possible to support a project even if you don’t see it from the newspaper editorial offices in Oslo, he says. In the National Transport Plan up to 2030, it is planned to spend around NOK 1,000 billion on roads and railways. The ship tunnel, worth approximately NOK 3 billion, is the largest project in sea transport. – Seen in that light, the cut proposal is almost comical, believe Bjørlo and Sande. Both come from the former Sogn og Fjordane. FROM LAUGHTER TO FRUSTRATION: Storting representatives Erling Sande (Sp) and Alfred Bjørlo (V) were in good spirits during the conference called Stad ship tunnel. But the proposal to stop the project makes no sense to them. Behind we see the entry point for the ship tunnel. Photo: Bård Siem / news Back at Havila Castor, Per Sævik squirms in his chair when we ask if he thinks the Stad ship tunnel will be delayed. – In that case, it will be a political scandal, is the clear message from the 81-year-old.
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City ship tunnel can become a tourist magnet – news Vestland
