Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri announced on 4th February 2021 that the company has laid the keel for Viking Mars, the eighth ocean cruise ship that the company builds for Viking Cruises, at the shipyard in Ancona. The vessel is due for delivery in 2022.
According to Fincantieri, Viking Mars will have a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons, 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers.
The Viking units are all built according to the latest navigation regulations and equipped with the most up-to-date safety systems, including the “Safe return to port”. They also feature energy-efficient engines, optimized hydrodynamics and hull thereby reducing consumption, as well as systems which minimize pollution produced by exhaust gases, meeting the strictest environmental regulations.
Since 2012, Fincantieri started its partnership with Viking. The cooperation first began with an order for two ships, has now reached a total of 20 units, including the order awarded to Vard for two expedition cruise ships and the options. This is an all-time record, the largest number of units built by a shipbuilder for one sole shipowner.
The first of the series, Viking Star, has been built at the shipyard in Marghera and delivered in 2015. The other units, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Sun, Viking Orion, and Viking Jupiter, handed over between 2016 and 2019, were all built at the Ancona yard, as well as Viking Venus, which will join Viking’s fleet this year. Other 9 units, options included, will take to the sea from the Group’s Italian yards between 2022 and 2027.
Image Credit: Viking Cruises
Credit: Fincantieri
