On 5 July 2024 Viking announced its newest ocean ship, Viking Vesta®, was ‘floated out’, marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water.
Classified as a small ship, as are all Viking ocean ships, Viking Vesta has a gross tonnage of 54,300 tons, with 499 staterooms that can host 998 guests.
The ship is scheduled to debut in July 2025 and will spend her inaugural season sailing itineraries in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.
“It is always a good day when a new ship meets water for the first time,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking.
“Over the last decade, we have built the world’s most elegant small ocean ships together with Fincantieri. As we prepare to welcome Viking Vesta next summer, as well as her identical sister ship, Viking Vela, this autumn, we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to the Viking way of exploration.”
The traditional float out ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona and is significant because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction.
The float out of Viking Vesta began on 4 July at approximately 11:00am local time when the Viking team cut a cord that signalled water to flow into the ship’s building dock.
Following a two-day process that will set Viking Vesta afloat, she will then be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.
Pictured: Viking Vesta (left) with her sister ship which will debut in 2024, Viking Vela, at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard.
