VIKING GLORY was floated out of the building dock on 26 January. © Viking Line

VIKING GLORY floated out of building dock

FerryViking Line’s new 63,813gt ro-pax cruise ferry VIKING GLORY, which is due to enter service on the Stockholm-Åland-Turku route in late January/early February next year, was floated out of its building dock in the morning of 26 January.

The EUR 194 million LNG-powered ferry is under construction at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry and is expected to be delivered at the end of this year – one year late. Due to replace the 1988-built AMORELLA, VIKING GLORY will be about 11 per cent larger than the 2013-built running mate VIKING GRACE, yet the hull design and energy consumption have been further optimised, resulting in an estimated fuel reduction of 10 per cent.

The Ice Class 1A Super VIKING GLORY will have a capacity of 2,800 passengers, accommodated in 922 cabins, and 1,500 freight lanemetres on a single deck. Deltamarin, the ship’s naval architects, are one of the many partners from the Nordic countries with whom Viking Line has teamed up. Other well-known names include ABB Marine, Climeon, Wärtsilä, Kone, Almaco, Evac, Projektia and Pointman. Stockholm-based interior architects Koncept are responsible for the cruise ferry’s interior design, which has a retro feel.

Video of the float-out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrT2wbnV5tc