Viking Ocean Cruises Orders Four More Ships
Viking Ocean Cruises are set to expand their fleet to an impressive 10 ships after shipbuilders Fincantieri announced that four new ships are to be built.
Viking signed a memorandum of agreement for the construction of two ships back in April 2017, which were to be the seventh and eigth in the Viking fleet and this included an option for two further ships.
Fincantieri claim this option has now been confirmed after the option for the two additional ships was exercised.
Back in April, Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri said: “The extraordinary moment of the cruise sector is continuing, and with this announcement Fincantieri reaffirms its worldwide leadership in the segment. The series – which began with the “Viking Star” prototype – reaches eight ships with these additional units, with the possibility to further grow thanks to the expansion plans of this dynamic cruise company.”
He continued: “As worldwide river cruise leader, Viking decided to enter the ocean cruise segment through a startup together with Fincantieri as shipbuilder, achieving a huge success. We, therefore, consider this agreement a great strategic and commercial result, which allows us to further strengthen our already excellent partnership with Viking Ocean Cruises”.
The new units will be sister ships of the ones already ordered, 4 of which have been delivered and currently operate successfully in the company’s fleet. The ships have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons and accommodate 930 guests in 465 all-veranda cabins, built according to the latest navigation regulations and equipped with the most modern safety systems, including the “Safe return to port” system.
