Fincantieri hands over Viking Saturn

Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilding company, has delivered the newest cruise ship, Viking Saturn, to the Viking cruise line at its Ancona yard.

The ship, which is the tenth of its class, has a gross tonnage of approximately 47,800 tons, 465 cabins, and a capacity of up to 930 passengers. The vessel was launched in June 2022.

Along with its sister ships, it will be positioned in the market segment for smaller-sized ships. Viking Saturn was designed by a team of interior designers from Rottet Studios in Los Angeles and SMC Design in London.

The Viking ships are built to the latest navigation regulations, equipped with safety systems including “safe return to port,” and have been certified by Lloyd’s Register since the first unit was delivered in 2015.

The Safe Return to Port (SRtP) means that a vessel’s essential systems remain operational after a fire casualty that does not exceed the casualty threshold or flooding of any single watertight compartment so that the ship is able to proceed to a safe port under its own power.

The vessel also has high-efficiency engines, optimized hydrodynamics and hull resulting in lower fuel consumption. In addition, Viking Saturn has been fitted with systems that minimize exhaust gas pollution, meeting the most stringent environmental regulations, Fincantieri said.

Scheduled to debut in April 2023, the Viking Saturn will spend its maiden season sailing itineraries in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.

Viking Saturn’s handover comes on the back of the delivery of its sister ship Viking Neptune which took place in late 2022.

The Viking Neptune is equipped with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. Viking is using the small system as a test to determine how hydrogen fuel could be used at a larger scale in future newbuilds.