The construction of ten river cruise ships has begun at the Neptun Werft shipyard, which belongs to the Meyer Group.
Long-standing customer Viking and Neptun Werft have laid the keel for a total of ten new river cruise ships[ds_preview].
This continues the successful series of 65 ships for Viking to date, the shipyard announced.
The latest order is for a ship for the Seine and eight ships from the well-known Longship series. A further Seine ship was already ordered in February 2023.
While the longships are 135 m long, the ships for the Seine are based on the “shortened” longships “Viking Kari”, “Viking Radgrid”, “Viking Skaga” and “Viking Fjorgyn” already built for Viking. In 2025 and 2026, one ship each for the Seine and four ships from the longship series are to be delivered.
The new ships will reportedly be equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a diesel-electric drive and a battery system. This will absorb peak loads and save a considerable amount of fuel. The longships are being designed for the first time with a new PLM system, a combined software solution from Catia V6 and Cadmatic. They will also feature a number of technical innovations, such as a compact system for waste water treatment.
Jan Meyer is the new CIO at Neptun Werft
“We are delighted to continue the long series of Viking ships with these ten vessels. With their hybrid system, the ships are among the most environmentally friendly on Europe’s rivers. The successful use on the ships already delivered was a decisive reason for Viking to rely on Meyer Group again for the construction,” said Jan Meyer, who will head Neptun Werft as Chief Business Innovation Officer in the future.
According to the shipyard, it now has a “well-filled order book” until 2026 with orders for ten river cruise ships, two naval fuel supply vessels and parts of the research vessel “Meteor IV”. The Group is also planning to enter the construction of offshore converter platforms together with the Belgian company Smulders in Rostock.
