VOC Fleet Expansion news

[SailorPaulH]

More ships on the way....

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/04/viking-ocean-orderbook-6-ships-get-accelerated-delivery-4-more-options/

[Mike07]

Interesting... I'm wondering if they're banking on the baby boomer retirement.

[Peregrina651]

I'm not surprised.

 

You can build lots of small ships or one big ship. Viking is doing the former. Time has shown that there is a niche for smaller, quieter ships -- and  Viking seems very eager to fill that demand.

[Heidi13]

I'll suggest the biggest challenge is finding sufficient crew meeting the required Viking standards. If they take up all 4 options, 10 new ships in 6 years is a lot of crew recruitment and training.

 

It isn't only the hotel crew that is of concern, there is a worldwide shortage of Masters, Deck Officers and Engineering Officers.

[Peregrina651]

My first thought was that all of you merchant mariners are just going to have to come out of retirement to give Viking hand. 😉 and ducking for cover.

 

 

[Jim Avery]

Yes, that will do it.  I bet they don't want to hear what Andy and I might have to say to them. 🍸

[SailorPaulH]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I'll suggest the biggest challenge is finding sufficient crew meeting the required Viking standards. If they take up all 4 options, 10 new ships in 6 years is a lot of crew recruitment and training.

 

It isn't only the hotel crew that is of concern, there is a worldwide shortage of Masters, Deck Officers and Engineering Officers.

 

For a fully immersive experience, each of the new ships will be equipped with 998 oars.

[Mike07]

5 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

For a fully immersive experience, each of the new ships will be equipped with 998 oars.

 

It's an unscheduled and free excursion to shore.

[OneSixtyToOne]

I wonder if there are plans to sell the 2 older ships (Sun and Sky) and replace them with newer ones that may be more cost effective to operate? The newest ships are hybrids and can be used in sensitive ecological areas. Norway’s zero emissions regulation goes into effect in a couple of years.

https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/latest-updates-on-proposed-rules-for-zero-emissions-in-Norways-World-Heritage-fjords/#:~:text=The new rules would only,needs time to gradually develop.

Edited April 8 by OneSixtyToOne

[Peregrina651]

The two oldest ships are Star and Sea, neither of which has made it to its 10th anniversary.  Sun has already been sold to a company in China and is being leased back to Viking for its new China itineraries.  

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

My first thought was that all of you merchant mariners are just going to have to come out of retirement to give Viking hand. 😉 and ducking for cover.

 

 

 

Once you retire you no longer accrue the seatime required to maintain your Certificate of Competency (CoC). Once issued, a CoC, is only valid for 5-years and to renew it you require 1 yr seatime on ships, or 2 yrs working ashore in a related industry. The Viking Masters, who work a day for day rotation, only get 6 months seatime each year, so need to work 2 yrs at sea in ev 5 yrs.

 

In addition, you have to complete seafarer medicals, radio certification and safety courses.

 

Therefore, for me to return to sea after 12 yrs in retirement, I would need to pass at least a number of written exams, a Master's orals exam, seafarer medical, GMDSS (radio refresher) and safety & survival refreshers. Time required would be a few months and cost a few thousand dollars.

 

Even those of us that retired at 55, rarely return to the sea, as it is way too onerous to renew our Certificate of Competency.

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I wonder if there are plans to sell the 2 older ships (Sun and Sky) and replace them with newer ones that may be more cost effective to operate? The newest ships are hybrids and can be used in sensitive ecological areas. Norway’s zero emissions regulation goes into effect in a couple of years.

https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/latest-updates-on-proposed-rules-for-zero-emissions-in-Norways-World-Heritage-fjords/#:~:text=The new rules would only,needs time to gradually develop.

 

Since even the oldest vessel Viking Star has not yet completed its 2nd Special Survey at 10yrs, all Viking vessels only require drydocking every 5 yrs. Additional maintenance costs start about 15 yrs with increased drydockings and from about 20 - 25 yrs they increase significantly.

 

DG's can't be changed easily, but other technology such as hull coatings, which can save considerable fuel, are easily changed on older ships at the next drydocking. Normally involves blasting to near white and applying new coatings. The increased smoothness of new coatings can save considerable fuel. Prior to retirement, I costed applying the latest anti-fouling and the fuel savings were considerable, giving a payback of only a couple of years. Much cheaper than building a new ship.

 

With the 2 oldest ships paid off, according to the IPO, and no significant increase in maintenance costs, I'll suggest the 2 oldest ships are cheaper to operate than the new tonnage. Personally, I don't see any operational or financial reason to offload the tonnage. The older ships may not be able to cruise in an ever increasing list of environmentally sensitive areas, but they have a new ship each year that can operate in those areas.

 

The cost per lower berth for the new ships is continuously increasing, so I'll suggest the older ships will be the ones making the greatest contribution to the bottom line, for a number of years.

 

Another factor to consider is the going price for used tonnage. At less than 10 yrs they would not be candidates for a breaker's yard, so would be looking at the 2nd hand market. This market has experienced a glut of used tonnage, with multiple cruise lines going broke and mainstream lines offloading their older tonnage. Therefore, the 2nd hand market prices probably haven't yet rebounded.