Viking floats out expedition ship
Viking Octantis takes to the water in Norway; it is set to debut in January 2022
Viking Cruises has officially floated out Viking Octantis, its first expedition vessel. The ship, which is set to debut in January 2022, has now touched the water for the first time – marking a key construction milestone in its development.
The 378-guest ship is being built at the Fincantieri Vard shipyard in Norway and it will now move to a nearby outfitting dock for further construction and interior build out. It will spend its maiden season in Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes. A second expedition ship, Viking Polaris, will launch in summer 2022.
Viking has also developed a series of short videos about the new expedition voyages, ship design and prestigious scientific partnerships, which can be found on its website here.
“Working with Fincantieri over the last eight years, we have built the world’s most beautiful ocean ships. We are pleased to continue our partnership with Fincantieri’s Vard and celebrate this important milestone in the construction of our first expedition vessel,” said Viking chairman Torstein Hagen.
“In creating ‘the thinking person’s expedition’, we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America.
Viking Octantis and her sister ship, Viking Polaris, will allow our guests to explore further – to the ends of the earth as well as closer to home. I would like to thank our partners at Vard and everyone working at the yard for the hard work and dedication on the building of Viking Octantis; we look forward to welcoming her to our fleet in early 2022.”