Viking today announced its newest ocean ship—the 998-guest Viking Vela—was “floated out,” marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Scheduled to debut in December 2024, the Viking Vela will spend her inaugural season sailing voyages in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.
The traditional float-out ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard and is significant because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. The float out of the Viking Vela began at approximately 11:00 a.m. 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 the Viking Vela afloat, she will then be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.
The Viking Vela – Classified as a small ship, the Viking Vela has a gross tonnage of 54,300 tons, with 499 staterooms that can host 998 guests. She will join the award-winning ocean fleet of sister ships, which includes the Viking Star, the Viking Sea, the Viking Sky, the Viking Orion, the Viking Jupiter, the Viking Venus, the Viking Mars, the Viking Neptune and the Viking Saturn.