Viking names new river ship in Egypt

The 82-passenger vessel was officially named by its godfather, Richard Riveire – designer of the line’s river, ocean and expedition vessels.

Viking’s new ship, an identical sister of Viking Osiris, has been built to navigate the Nile and will sail Viking’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.

Sister ships Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek, are currently under construction and will enter service on the Nile in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Additional ships in the Egypt fleet include Viking Ra and MS Antares by 2025, Viking will have six ships sailing the Nile River.

Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, said: “Today, we are pleased to welcome Viking Aton to our growing fleet. Together with her sister ship, Viking Osiris, they are the newest and most elegant vessels on the Nile, by far.

“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.”

Riveire added: “It is an incredible honour to be the godfather of Viking Aton and to celebrate the growing Viking fleet.

“For well over a decade, I have been proud to work alongside Torstein, Karine [Hagen, executive vice-president], and the Viking team to help design how the Viking brand comes to life on board.

“Together, we share the belief that the design of each Viking ship should showcase the destination, wherever you may be in the world."