Viking Cruises and Fincantieri announced today the signing of a contract for the construction of two additional ocean cruise ships.

These new ships will be sister ships to those ordered last year. Deliveries are scheduled for mid 2016 and early 2017. The contract will be effective subject to financing and other customary closing conditions.

In total, Viking has so far ordered four new 944-passenger vessels.

This new contract reinforces the already strong commercial relationship between Viking and Fincantieri. On this basis Fincantieri and Viking are discussing additional high-profile joint projects in other cruise segments to further enlarge the scope of the partnership.

Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises, commented on the announcement: “The interest in and popularity of our current ocean itineraries has been incredible, and they are selling at an unprecedented rate. This new order allows us to offer consumers in our other markets the opportunity to explore the world in ways they have never experienced before through our destination-focused itineraries”.

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: “This new order strengthens our partnership with Viking, a group that is displaying remarkable dynamism and ability to achieve important market goals. Bono continued:  “Fincantieri has got its fill this year of the new build orders offered by the market. This once again demonstrates our determination and ability to compete without which it would have been hard to achieve these excellent results. We hope that the next few years will provide more and greater satisfaction that we’ll need to pursue with the passion and cultural openness demanded by the competitive environment”.