The Brødrene Aa shipyard and LEGACY OF THE FJORDS (earlier delivered ship)

Brødrene Aa Files for Bankruptcy following Norled Cancellations

YardNorwegian shipyard Brødrene Aa AS has announced its decision to file for bankruptcy due to financial challenges. The board of Brødrene Aa AS decided to file for bankruptcy after Norled cancelled a contract for three fast ferries being built at the Hyen shipyard.

For months, the company worked to find a way to continue operations, but despite dialogue with the parties involved, no viable solution was found, leaving the company unable to manage the situation further.

The bankruptcy filing will be sent to Fjordane District Court, which will handle the case and appoint an administrator to manage the company. The board regrets the impact on its 170 employees, customers, and suppliers.

Norled cancelled the contracts with Brødrene Aa due to unresolved speed issues and significant delays to the three ferries TYRA, MAGNI and VÅR. TYRA has been completed, while MAGNI and VÅR only are partially completed.

Norled will now instead revert to diesel-powered vessels for its Trondheim routes, as the cancelled vessels were meant to use the SHIFTR battery-swapping system. While Norled remains committed to SHIFTR for other routes, such as Oslofjord, the Trondheim project failed due to delays and performance issues, not the battery system itself.