Viking Names Its Newest Nile River Ship In Aswan
Viking has named its newest river ship, the Viking Aton, celebrating the occasion in Aswan, Egypt. The ship’s ceremonial godfather, Richard Riveire, designer of Viking’s river, ocean and expedition vessels and founding Principal of interior design firm Rottet Studio, offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing for the ship.
The Viking Aton, an identical sister ship of the Viking Osiris, is a state-of-the-art vessel specifically built to navigate the Nile and will sail Viking’s popular Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.
Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, said: “Today, we are pleased to welcome Viking Aton to our growing fleet. Together with her sister ship, the Viking Osiris, they are the newest and most elegant vessels on the Nile, by far.”
Hagen continued: “With extraordinarily strong interest in Egypt among our guests, we are proud to bring another state-of-the-art vessel to this region, and we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to the country’s rich cultural treasures. I am also thankful to my friend, Richard Riveire, for his tremendous contributions to Viking, including the design of this new vessel and our other award-winning river, ocean and expedition ships.”
Hosting 82 guests in 41 staterooms, the new Viking Aton is inspired by Viking’s river and ocean ships with the Scandinavian design for which Viking is known. The Viking Aton is the identical sister ship to the Viking Osiris, which was named in 2022 by Viking’s first ceremonial godfather, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The sister ships feature several aspects familiar to Viking guests, such as a distinctive square bow and an indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.
The Viking Aton joins Viking’s growing fleet built specifically for the Nile. In addition to the Viking Aton and the Viking Osiris, identical sister ships the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek, are under construction and will be delivered in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Additional ships in the Egypt fleet currently include the Viking Ra and the MS Antares; by 2025, Viking will have six ships sailing the Nile River.
Sail on over to https://www.viking.com/ for more.
Photos courtesy of Viking
