Contract for Viking and Fincantieri

The two vessels will weigh in at 47,000gt, have 472 cabins and a total passenger capacity of 944. They will serve the smaller market of super luxury ships. Torstein Hagen, chief executive officer, represented Viking Ocean Cruises while Giuseppe Bono, chief executive officer, represented Fincantieri.

Export Banca, the scheme set up by SACE, Cassa depositi e prestiti and Simest to support Italy’s exports, played a vital part in Fincantieri’s successful bid for the contract. The Export Banca system allows the company to offer the shipowner an appealing technical, commercial and financial package.

The signing of the contract is claimed to prove the competitiveness of the Italian system and its abilities to offer effective solutions for the export of capital goods. This is thought to be significant given the restless financial markets of today.

The ‘super luxury’ cruise liners are expected to be delivered in early 2015 and early 2016.

As well as this joint venture, Fincantieri and Viking say they are considering a project in the river cruise sector, in which Viking River Cruises claims to be the market leader.