Viking Ocean Cruises and VARD have signed a letter of intent (LoI) for two ‘special’ cruise ships with an option for two more.
This move is in addition to plans to grow the Viking Ocean fleet to 16 ships by 2027.
The contract value is around €460 mill, VARD said. It is thought that the ships will be LNG powered.
Delivery dates are scheduled for the second quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of the following year. The hulls will be built in Romania with final outfitting expected to take place in Norway.
Roy Reite, VARD CEO and Executive Director, commented: “It is our pleasure to work with Viking to develop a new series of cruise vessels. The company is well known for its expansion in river and ocean cruises, and they are now looking to Norway for the design and construction of its new cruise fleet. We are honoured to be chosen as their partner in this exciting project, and look forward to continuing the excellent co-operation with the Viking team.”
The vessels will be developed by Vard Design in Norway in close co-operation with Viking Ocean Cruises. High industry demand for the most environmentally friendly and safe operations is a key driver in the concept development process, VARD said.
