Switzerland’s Viking welcomes newest eco-friendly cruise ship to its fleet

Swiss cruise line Viking has taken delivery of Viking Vela, the first of a series of eco-friendly vessels being built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, following a ceremony held at the latter’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy.

As informed, Viking Vela is classified as a small ship—much like all other Viking ocean vessels—and it possesses a gross tonnage of around 54,300 tons, with 499 staterooms for approximately 998 guests. Having joined Viking’s fleet, the Viking Vela is set to spend her inaugural season sailing itineraries in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.

As disclosed, the Swiss cruise line has been working on a project for a partial hybrid propulsion system for up-and-coming ocean ships based on liquid hydrogen and fuel cells, which could allow the company to operate at zero-emission in the Norwegian fjords as well as other ‘sensitive’ environments.

According to Viking, although Viking Vela has a traditional propulsion platform, the unit is considered hydrogen-ready and it can be retrofitted in the future.

The ocean ship is reportedly the 13th one that the Fincantieri Group delivered to Viking, including the two expedition cruise vessels that were built by the Norwegian subsidiary, Vard. The first of these two units was floated out in 2020, two years after Vard and Viking had signed the Letter of Intent (LOI) for the newbuilds.

Considering the vessels ordered to date, as well as the contracts and the agreements signed in the past months, Fincantieri—which has been collaborating with the Swiss business since 2012—shared that the collaboration between the two parties encompasses around 26 ships.

These ships are said to have been built according to the latest navigation and safety regulations. As per Fincantieri, they are also outfitted with energy-efficient engines and systems that reduce the pollution of exhaust gases—in line with international environmental standards.

The delivery of Viking Vela comes just months after a contract was signed between the two sides in July this year. Namely, back then, Fincantieri received an order to build two environmentally friendly units for Viking, with the value of the agreement estimated between €500 million and €1 billion.

Less than three months later, in October, a two-plus-four option was added to the orderbook. The delivery dates are slated for 2030, 2031 and 2032.