As a Fincantieri salute, Viking Vela is named in Trieste festivitiesAs a Fincantieri salute, Viking Vela is named in Trieste festivities

In a salute to longtime partner Fincantieri, Viking chose the shipbuilder's hometown, Trieste, for Viking Vela's naming.

Serving as the godmother was Ivana Elice, VP and project manager of Fincantieri's Cruise Business Unit, who has overseen the design and engineering of Viking’s ocean ships for 12 years.

With its rich maritime history, Trieste is considered the endpoint to the maritime Silk Road and is now Italy’s most important commercial port (handling the highest volume of freight traffic).

'With Fincantieri as our partner, we believe we have built the world’s most elegant fleet of small ocean ships,' said Torstein Hagen, chairman and CEO of Viking. He thanked Elice who, in her role at Fincantieri, has 'cared for our ocean ships during their construction just as a godmother would, and we are very appreciative of her contributions as a member of the extended Viking family.'

Historic axe

Elice was presented with a historic Viking broad axe by philanthropist Ann Ziff, chairman of the Metropolitan Opera and Viking Saturn's godmother. The same axe was used for Viking Saturn's naming in New York in June 2023.

Ann Ziff, in red, presents the axe to Viking Vela godmother Ivana Elice PHOTO: VIKING

After the axe presentation, Elice pressed a button that released a bottle of Norwegian aquavit to smash on the ship’s hull. The festivities also featured performances by Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of the world’s leading crossover sopranos and Viking Jupiter's godmother, and acclaimed Italian singer Alessandro Safina, who paid tribute to the cultures of both Norway and Italy in song.

Related:Fincantieri's Ancona yard delivers Viking Vela, 11th in a series

Distinguished career

With a distinguished career in naval and mechanical engineering, Elice has helped support the Viking ocean fleet's expansion for a dozen years. In 2012, she was appointed by Fincantieri to oversee the building of Viking Star, first in the series.

Elice joined Fincantieri in 1985 after graduating from the University of Genoa with a master’s degree in naval architecture and mechanical engineering. Her initial role as a noise and vibration specialist within the company’s Naval Vessel Division involved assisting with the design of surface ships and submarines. Since 1993, she has held several positions in Fincantieri’s Merchant Division in the areas including hydrodynamics, ship construction and production engineering.

11th in a series

The 54,300gt, 998-passenger Viking Vela is 11th in a series and the first of a slightly larger design due to new IMO stability regulations.

The ship is scheduled to spend its inaugural season sailing in the Mediterranean before continuing to Northern Europe.