Viking Celebrates Fincantieri Partnership with Naming of Newest Ocean Ship
05 Diciembre 2024 - 8:08PM
Business Wire
The 998-Guest Viking Vela was Named in
Fincantieri’s Hometown of Trieste, Italy
Viking® (www.viking.com) (NYSE: VIK) today named its newest
ocean ship, the Viking Vela®, with a traditional ceremony in
Trieste, Italy. The naming of the Viking Vela also served as a
celebration of Viking’s longtime partnership with Fincantieri,
which is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups and is
based in Trieste. With its rich maritime history, Trieste is
considered the endpoint to the maritime Silk Road and is now
Italy’s most important commercial port. Serving as ceremonial
godmother of the Viking Vela was Ivana Elice, Vice President and
Project Manager of the Fincantieri Cruise Business Unit, who has
overseen the design and engineering of Viking’s ocean ships for 12
years.
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Viking today named its newest ocean ship,
the Viking Vela, with a traditional naming ceremony in Trieste,
Italy. Pictured here, Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking
with Karine Hagen, Viking Executive Vice President of Product,
Ivana Elice, godmother of the Viking Vela and Ann Ziff, godmother
of the Viking Saturn. For more information, visit www.viking.com.
(Photo: Business Wire)
“We are proud to welcome the Viking Vela to our growing,
award-winning fleet. 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. “We thank Ivana
Elice for being godmother of the Viking Vela. In her role at
Fincantieri, she 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.”
In keeping with the naming tradition, during the ceremony, Ivana
was presented with a historic Viking broad axe by Ann Ziff, the
esteemed philanthropist, Chairman of the Metropolitan Opera and
godmother of the Viking Saturn®. The same axe was previously used
in the naming of the Viking Saturn in June 2023. After the axe
presentation, Ivana pressed a button that allowed a bottle of
Norwegian aquavit to break on the ship’s hull. Guests also enjoyed
performances by Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of the world’s leading
crossover sopranos and godmother of the Viking Jupiter®, and
acclaimed Italian singer Alessandro Safina, who paid tribute to the
cultures of both Norway and Italy in song.
Ivana Elice, Godmother of the Viking Vela
Ivana Elice, Vice President and Project Manager of the
Fincantieri Cruise Business Unit, has enjoyed a distinguished
career in naval and mechanical engineering, helping support the
expansion of the Viking ocean fleet for the past 12 years. In 2012,
Ms. Elice was appointed by Fincantieri to oversee the build of
Viking’s first ocean ship, the Viking Star®, and she has continued
to serve as valuable support for the expansion of Viking’s fleet of
sister ships. She 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 within
Fincantieri’s Merchant Division in the areas of hydrodynamics, ship
construction, production engineering and more.
The Viking Vela
The Viking Vela is the newest ship in Viking’s award-winning
ocean fleet of sister ships. Classified as a small ship, as are all
Viking ocean ships, the Viking Vela has a gross tonnage of 54,300
tons, with 499 staterooms that can host 998 guests; the ships
feature all veranda staterooms, elegant Scandinavian design,
light-filled public spaces and abundant al fresco dining options.
The Viking Vela will spend her inaugural season sailing itineraries
during the “quiet season” in the Mediterranean before continuing to
Northern Europe.
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. The Viking
Vela has been designed with the future in mind, ensuring she can be
retrofitted to incorporate these new technologies as they become
available.
The naming of the Viking Vela follows a string of recent
accolades for the company. Viking was rated #1 for Oceans, #1 for
Rivers and #1 for Expeditions by Condé Nast Traveler in the 2024
Readers’ Choice Awards for the second consecutive year. This
achievement marked the first time a travel company won these three
categories in back-to-back years. Viking was also named Best Luxury
Line, Best Line for Couples and Best Line in the Mediterranean in
U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Cruise Lines ranking for
the fourth consecutive year. Viking’s ocean ships have been rated
and “Recommended” as part of the Forbes Travel Guide 2024 Star
Awards, an annual independent evaluation for luxury travel brands.
Additionally, Viking received seven awards at the 2023 Cruise
Critic Editors’ Picks Awards—more than any other line—across the
luxury, river and expedition categories.
Media Assets
For more information about Viking, or for images and b-roll,
please contact vikingpr@edelman.com
About Viking
Viking (NYSE: VIK) was founded in 1997 and provides
destination-focused journeys on rivers, oceans and lakes around the
world. Designed for curious travelers with interests in science,
history, culture and cuisine, Chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen often
says Viking offers experiences For The Thinking Person™. Viking has
more than 450 awards to its name, including being rated #1 for
Rivers, #1 for Oceans and #1 for Expeditions by Condé Nast Traveler
in the 2023 and 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. Viking is also rated a
“World’s Best” for rivers, oceans and expeditions by Travel +
Leisure. No other travel company has simultaneously received the
same honors by both publications. For additional information,
contact Viking at 1-800-2-VIKING (1-800-284-5464) or visit
www.viking.com. For Viking’s award-winning enrichment channel,
visit www.viking.tv.
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Email: vikingpr@edelman.com
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