The ''Viking Octantis'' is a

Polar Class 6 Polar Class (PC) refers to the ice class assigned to a ship by a classification society based on the ''Unified Requirements for Polar Class Ships'' developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). Seven Polar Classe ...

purpose-built

expedition ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours know ...

completed in December 2021 for Viking Expeditions Cruises, a subdivision of

Viking Cruises Viking (formerly Viking Cruises) is a cruise line providing river, ocean, and expedition cruises. Its operating headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland,Adam H. Graham"The Rising Tide: How Viking Changed Cruising" '' Departures'', 21 November 201 ...

. The ship has a capacity of 378 passengers with 189 staterooms. Named after the

Sigma Octantis Sigma Octantis is a solitary star in the Octans constellation that forms the pole star of the Southern Hemisphere. Its name is also written as σ Octantis, abbreviated as Sigma Oct or σ Oct, and it is officially named Polaris Australis ...

, the south star, the ship's primary routes include

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

and the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

where the ship carries out scientific research during its cruises. The ship was joined by an identical sister ship ''Viking Polaris'' in fall of 2022.

Design and construction

A letter of intent was signed for two new expedition vessels for

in April 2018. The ship was designed by SMC Design of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and the interiors by Richard Riviere of the interior design firm

Rottet Studio Rottet Studio is an international architecture and design firm based in Houston, Texas. The firm was founded by Lauren Rottet in 2008 and has offices in Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, as well as a presence in Asia in Hong Kong a ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The ship dimensions were specifically designed to fit through the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines t ...

. The ship has a straight bow, designed to reduce fuel consumption and improve stability. The ice-strengthened

hull was built to ensure a safe voyage and state of the art U-tank stabilisers are intended to decrease rolling by up to 50% when the ship is stationary. The ''Viking Octantis'' was primarily constructed at the

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

Vard Tulcea shipyard in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, when it was towed to the Vard Søviknes shipyard in Søvik,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

for interior outfitting and completion.

Design features

* "The Hangar": an aft ship bay that holds all the expedition equipment, including a fleet of

zodiacs The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

s, two high speed special operation boats with a custom stern slipway, side bay doors with a

gantry crane A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, us ...

, and two Cruise Sub 7-300 yellow submarines named "John" and "George". * "The Aula": an aft two deck high transformative auditorium space with glass windows on three sides, for educational presentations and lectures. It is inspired by the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

's ceremonial hall, the former venue for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, with replica drop murals. * Viking Octantis hangar

"The Laboratory": Lab space in coordination with NOAA - Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory,

Cornell Lab of Ornithology The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuar ...

Norwegian Institute of Water Research(NIVA)Polar Citizen Science Collective

Norwegian Polar Institute The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; no, Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Min ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Oceanites
'', and the

Scott Polar Research Institute The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south o ...

. The ''Viking Octantis'' is also partnered with the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

, and is the first civilian ship sanctioned to be a launch site for

weather balloon A weather balloon, also known as sounding balloon, is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a ...

History

The ''Viking Octantis'' is Viking Cruises' first expedition ship; they took delivery of the ship on December 22, 2021. The ship's maiden season was in Antarctica with the first passenger voyage in January 2022. Explorer Liv Arnesen was named the ships's godmother. After the Antarctic season the ship sailed north via the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where it was originally intended have the ship's official naming ceremony, but was postponed due to the war in Ukraine. The ship departed New York City to begin her maiden Great Lakes season, sailing out of such ports as

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. The ''Viking Octantis'' was also the first cruise ship to return to

Atlantic Canadian Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...

ports in over two years since restrictions were put in place, with her first port of call in

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1 ...

. The ship was finally named on September 30, 2022 in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

, in a special virtual remote dual christening with her sister ship, ''Viking Polaris'' docked in Amsterdam.

Liv Arnesen Liv Ragnheim Arnesen (born June 1, 1953) is a Norwegian educator, cross-country skier, adventurer, guide, and motivational speaker. Arnesen led the first unsupported women’s crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap in 1992. In 1994, she made internat ...

blessed the ship from the bow of the ''Viking Polaris'' in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, while a crew member in Toronto released the bottle of champagne on the bow.

References

External links

''Viking Octantis'' Naming Ceremony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viking Octantis Ships built by Fincantieri Cruise ships of Norway 2021 ships