Viking marks float out of first expedition ship
1st January 2021
Set to Debut in January 2022, Viking Octantis as floated out for the first time in late December 2020.
Viking’s first expedition ship, the 378-guest Viking Octantis, took to the water for the first time, marking a major construction milestone.
Scheduled to debut in early 2022, Viking Octantis will spend her maiden season sailing voyages to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes.
A second, identical expedition ship, Viking Polaris, is set to debut in summer 2022 and will sail to Antarctica and the Arctic.
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 Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
“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.
“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.”
The float out ceremony of Viking Octantis took place on 22 December 2020; the ship was then moved to a nearby outfitting dock for further construction and interior build-out. After final outfitting, Viking Octantis will be delivered at Fincantieri’s VARD shipyard in Søviknes, Norway.
