On a negative day for the Milan Stock Exchange, with the Ftse Mib in the red by 1 percent in mid-morning, the share of Fincantieri shines in Piazza Affari, which in the same minutes travels up by 2 percent, to 0,7775 EUR. The wave of purchases was triggered by the news that the group has signed a memorandum of agreement with Viking Ocean Cruises for the construction of two other cruise ships, with the option for a further two.
In detail, the new units will be twins of the six already ordered and will join the Viking fleet in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Each ship has a gross tonnage of approximately 47.800 tons and accommodates 930 passengers on board in 465 cabins.
The first ship for Viking Ocean Cruises, Viking Star, was delivered in spring 2015 at the Marghera shipyard. The second and third units, Viking Sea and Viking Sky, were delivered in Ancona at the beginning of 2016 and 2017 respectively. The delivery to Viking of the fourth unit, Viking Sun, will take place at the end of 2017 and that of the fifth unit, Viking Spirit , in 2018. The sixth vessel, as yet unnamed, will be delivered in 2019, making Viking the largest small oceangoing vessel company.
Forecasts say that in 2020 Viking will have a dominant market share in the luxury sector, equal to 23,9% (on a berth basis, according to the specialized magazine Cruise Industry News). Additional ships will add to this already impressive statistic.
“The extraordinary momentum of the cruise sector continues – commented Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri – and with this announcement Fincantieri strongly reaffirms its global leadership. With these additional ships, the series that started with the Viking Star prototype reaches eight, with the possibility of further lengthening thanks to the expansion plans of this lively company which, as world leader in the river sector, decided to enter the cruise sector oceanic vessels with a startup together with Fincantieri as a builder, achieving enormous success. We can therefore only consider this agreement a great strategic and commercial result, which allows us to further consolidate our already excellent relationship with Viking Ocean Cruises".
