Neptun names 10 newbuilds at one go

It is the first time the shipyard, a subsidiary of Meyer Werft, has named so many ships at once. The 135m long inland cruise ships are part of an order for 10 so-called Longship Class newbuildings for Viking River Cruises in Basle. One has already been delivered and those named in Warnemuende are in various stages of construction for delivery over the coming months. Four of the six Warnemuende ships were in the water for the naming ceremony while the other two were in the halls. All 10 ships were named simultaneously by remote-control.

In December, Viking ordered a further 10 identical Longships from Neptun and has reported to have also secured options. Two of the new batch will be delivered in August and September and the remainder up to April next year. Neptun MD Manfred Müller-Fahrenholz said the orders were providing work for 500 people in Warnemuende and for associated specialist firms.

He said the Viking ships were being turned out in five-week cycles and were for service on rivers like the Rhine, Mosel, Danube and Rhone. They are mainly for the American market and reflect a current boom in European river cruise shipping.

The Longships are 11.45m wide and draw 1.6m. Designed for 190 passengers in 95 cabins, 39 of them with balconies, the ships are powered by ecologically friendly hybrid main engines which Viking says are quiet-running and “produce fewer vibrations for a smoother ride”. Nowhere however does the owner appear to provide further technical details of the Longliner propulsion system.

In addition to the Viking ships, Neptun is also building an almost identical ship – its eleventh – for Arosa Flusskreuzfahrten in Rostock for delivery by the end of the year.