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

Fincantieri delivered Viking Vela, the 11th ship in a series for Viking, however one that is marginally larger due to new IMO stability regulations.

Viking Vela's gross tonnage is 54,300, up from 47,800gt. It has capacity for 998 passengers, compared to 930 for the earlier vessels.

This series began in 2015.

Hydrogen-ready

Viking is working on a project for a partial hybrid propulsion system for future ocean ships based on liquid hydrogen and fuel cells, which could allow the company to operate at zero-emission in the Norwegian Fjords and other sensitive environments.

While Viking Vela has a traditional propulsion platform, it is considered hydrogen-ready and can be retrofitted in the future.

Viking and Fincantieri began their joint work on hydrogen-based propulsion with 2022's Viking Neptune.

13 ships completed so far

Counting two expedition vessels from its Norwegian subsidiary, Vard, Fincantieri has built a total of 13 ships for Viking.

The shipbuilder said vessels delivered and others on contract or options for Viking tally 26.