Italy's state-backed Fincantieri and travel firm Viking have signed a deal to build two state-of-the-art cruise liners for delivery in 2028 and 2029, bolstering the companies' solid 12-year-old ties amid a buoyant post-pandemic cruise market, Fincantieri said in statement on Friday.
“This order further cements our relationship with Viking and establishes Fincantieri as the partner of choice for ship owners looking to build vessels fit for both current and future energy sources," said Pierroberto Folgiero.
"Together, Fincantieri and Viking are leading the shipping industry in the path to net zero," Folgiero underlined.
"With this contract, Fincantieri confirms its strong order pipeline and its reputation as a long-term partner of excellence within the cruise sector, as stated in our 2023-27 Industrial Plan," Folgiero added.
The new ships will be constructed in line with the latest environmental and navigation rules, will boast he most up-to-date safety systems and will build on the successful features of previous ships which Fincantieri has built for Viking, said the statement.
The value of the accord is subject to financing and other terms and conditions but is "large", the statement said. Fincantieri considers shipping deals "large" when they are worth between 500 million and one billion euros, the statement noted.
The new liners will be placed in the small cruise ship segment with gross tonnage of about 54,300 tons and will accommodate 998 passengers in 499 cabins, according to the statement.
"The vessels will boast all innovations made available by the ongoing cooperation between Fincantieri and Viking for the development of 'eco-friendly' fuels and of sustainable zero-emission power generation systems," the statement noted.
The accord also highlights the "strong and long-lasting" relationship between Fincantieri and Viking which dates back over a decade to 2012, the shipbuilder stated.
Fincantieri and Viking have cooperated on the construction of 20 vessels to date including two purpose-built expedition units built by Fincantieri subsidiary Vard.
