Viking Cruises Announces Expansion: Two New Ships to Join the Fleet

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Italy-based Fincantieri, one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, will construct two ships for Viking Ocean Cruises under a contract the companies announced on June 21, 2024. The two ships, as yet unnamed, are scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029.

The contract is subject to financing and is classified as a “strong order,” meaning one that is worth between 500 million and 1 billion Euros. Each of the ships will weigh in at about 54,000-gross tons, with a capacity for 998 guests in 499 cabins.

Viking Ocean Cruises is a unit of Switzerland-based Viking, which also operates a large fleet of river ships in Europe and elsewhere. Its ocean-going ships are categorized as small, by industry standards, with total accommodations for under 1,000 guests. The all-balcony ships are known for their austere yet inviting Scandinavian design.

Fincantieri and Viking Ocean Cruises have partnered on previous ship-builds. The line’s two newest vessels, Viking Saturn and Viking Neptune, both were constructed at Fincantieri shipyards in Italy.

Viking Saturn is the line’s newest ship, and was christened in New York in June 2023. Viking Neptune was named in January 2023 in Los Angeles.

Fincantieri is currently building two ocean vessels for Viking. Viking Vela is slated to enter service in December 2024 while Viking Vesta is scheduled to debut in mid-2025.

The latest ship order will continue Viking’s commitment to using environmentally friendly fuels and zero-emission power sources, although the companies’ announcement did not provide specifics on fuel sources or emission technologies.

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Viking Neptune was built with an experimental hydrogen fuel cell module, a green technology that, according to the US Department of Energy, is “not only pollution-free, but also can have more than two times the efficiency of traditional combustion technologies.”

“This order further cements our relationship with Viking and establishes Fincantieri as the partner of choice for ship owners looking to build vessels fit for both current and future energy sources,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri.

“Together, Fincantieri and Viking are leading the shipping industry in the path to net zero,” Folgiero added.

Viking, founded in 1997 by Torstein Hagen, went public on the New York Stock Exchange on May 1, 2024, raising roughly $1.5 billion. Viking Ocean Cruises currently has nine ships operating global itineraries.

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Viking Ocean Cruises’ newest ship, Viking Saturn, is based in Tilbury (London), and sailing 14-day cruises to Bergen, Norway, with calls at Dover and Liverpool, England; Dublin, Ireland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Anglesey Island, Wales; and Edinburgh, Invergordon, and Orkney Island, Scotland.

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In fall of 2024 and winter of 2024/2025 the ship will offer voyages between Rome and Athens, and from Barcelona to Rome, Venice, and Istanbul, among other embarkation ports.

Fincantieri considers the new contract to be confirmation that the cruise industry is fully recovered, with guest numbers back at pre-pandemic levels.

Viking is among other leading cruise brands that have new-builds on order with the Italian shipbuilder. In April 2024, Fincantieri announced a major contract with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings that will see the shipyard building four vessels for Norwegian Cruise Line and two ships each for sister brands Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

The vessels will have staggered delivery dates through 2036.

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