Viking orders a further 3 cruise liners
Three more vessels will be built for Viking Ocean Cruises, law firm Norton Rose Fulbright revealed, as advisors to a syndicate of lenders who have agreed to partially finance the builds.
A first vessel, Viking Neptune, was delivered to the firm’s Ancona shipyard on November 10. It was built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, which is also building the other three.
The vessels will be financed with credit loan facillities worth more than $1.5 billion, says Norton Rose Fulbright, and are backed by export credit agency SACE.
The vessel order is a good sign for the cruise industry, which was devastated by the Covid 19 lockdowns, having experienced a bumper year in 2019, according to insolvency services firm Company Debt.
”It is encouraging that, despite the Covid related issues that have challenged the cruise sector during the last few years, ECA (Export Credit Agency) finance is still available for newbuilding projects of this nature, reflecting an underlying inherent confidence in the passenger cruise sector,” said partner Simon Hartley, leading the firm working on the transaction.
Viking celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
