The former Viking Sun will become the first cruise ship to dock in Xiamen in 2023 when it arrives at the Chinese port on March 22.
Now named Zhao Shang Yi Dun, the vessel currently offers domestic cruising in China for China Merchants Viking Cruises, a joint-venture between China Merchants Shekou and Viking Cruises.
According to the local media, the visit to Xiamen is part of a new cruise in Southern China named “Southeast Coast Cultural Journey.”
Linking Shenzhen to Shanghai, the one-way itinerary includes three days docked at the port, as well as a visit to Zhoushan and three days at sea.
Also operating on the opposite way, the eight-day cruise is said to offer guests the opportunity to discover the art, culture and scenery of the region.
In Xiamen, passengers can participate on an included excursion that visits the Huihe Stone Cultural Park, where a stone sculpture museum is located. Guests are also able to use a free shuttle bus service offered by China Merchants Viking Cruises, linking the ship to the city’s main attractions.
Designed to offer luxury cruising, the Zhao Shang Yi Dun was formerly operated by Viking Ocean Cruises and originally entered service in 2017.
According to the company, the entertainment and enrichment content, as well as food and beverage experiences onboard were customized to cater to the local public.
One person was killed and four others injured after a Viking expedition cruise ship was struck by a rogue wave off the southern tip of South America this week.
The “rogue wave incident” happened on Tuesday, November 29, on board the Viking Polaris, which Viking only recently took delivery of in September, as it was sailing towards Ushuaia, Argentina, Viking Cruises confirmed in a statement.
“It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident. We have notified the guest’s family and shared our deepest sympathies,” the statement said. Four other passengers reportedly sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were treated on board.
The ship suffered limited damage, reportedly with several broken windows, and arrived in port in Ushuaia on the afternoon of November 30.
The Drake Passage, extending between Cape Horn at South America’s southernmost tip and Antarctica, is notorious for its extreme weather conditions and turbulent seas.
“We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities,” Viking’s statement said. “Our focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew, and we are working directly with them to arrange return travel.”
Viking Polaris is Viking’s second purpose-built “Polar Class” expedition ship and was delivered by Fincantieri’s VARD shipyard in Søviknes, Norway in September. Both Viking Polaris and its sister ship Viking Octanes, delivered in December 2021, are spending the austral summer in Antarctica, before travelling to the Great Lakes for a series of voyages starting next spring and summer. The vessels, with a length of 205 meters and a beam of 23.5 meters, have a passenger capacity of 378 people.
As a result of the incident, Viking has cancelled its next scheduled departure on December 5.
Meyer Turku has always been at the forefront of new technologies, Tim Meyer, CEO, said to Cruise Industry News, noting that the yard built the first LNG-fueled passenger vessel, the Viking Grace and that its sister yard in Papenburg delivered the first LNG-fueled cruise ship.
“It is important to understand that every time we build a prototype, we set very ambitious targets for GHG emissions and fuel consumption so that the new ship becomes more efficient. That becomes part of our building contract with most customers and, of course, by reducing the fuel consumption, we also lower our customers’ operating costs.
“Over the years, we have been introducing new technologies in our newbuilds, such as, for example, podded propulsion; air lubrication to reduce the hull’s resistance in the water; advanced wastewater treatment, ballast water treatment, and more, which eventually have become building standards for the cruise industry.
“Now, we are focusing on HVAC, which is a large energy consumer,” Meyer continued. “It is not necessary to cool down all the public rooms all the time, when there are no people present, for example, or staterooms when people leave.
“There is also the ventilation and exhaust from the galleys that used to run around the clock. We are now optimizing this, so it is only running when there is cooking going on.”
In addition, Meyer Turku is looking to develop a carbon-neutral cruise ship concept by 2025, working with suppliers, universities and research organizations, as well as the state of Finland.
“This is a very important effort and will be key to our success going forward,” Meyer said. “On one hand you have the ship itself, on the other hand, you have the shipyard, and then we have our network and supply chain that can be optimized.
“A cruise ship is like a small city; you have everything from water production to wastewater treatment and so on. The goal is to have all these systems working together as efficiently as possible, and with AI (artificial intelligence) we will be able to do just that.
“Another pillar is our people, so we are also focused on creating new competencies within the yard, looking at how we are working and developing new ideas for methods and procedures.”
As a shipbuilder, Meyer said the company can literally build anything. However, the key is that it must make sense.
“When you have a ship such as the Viking Grace running between Stockholm and Turku, then it makes sense to operate on LNG, as long as you have a fixed route. But if you have a cruise ship sailing all over the world that may not work if LNG cannot be bunkered. So, you have to adapt the product.
“The big question is what fuels will be available and where they will be available,” Meyer continued.
“Another factor that plays in is the energy density of marine fuels. Diesel oil has the most energy per litre; methanol has only half as much, LNG a little less than methanol; liquefied ammonia, liquid organic hydrogen carriers and liquefied hydrogen even less.”
Thus, future fuels could impact the design and general arrangement of future ships, tank space and bunkering frequency.
“What do zero emissions mean,” Meyer asked rhetorically. “Does it mean no exhaust only or does it also mean no sound and no vibrations? What is important for us is to look at different aspects, not only the cruise ships themselves but also the supply chain. Germany, for example, is studying how to make steel production more sustainable. As a shipyard, we cannot do all of this but work as partners with our suppliers.
“We have to look at the whole picture, and if you compare to what people do on land, let’s say they drive their car, heat their homes, prepare food, go to the theatre and so forth. If you add all that up on a per capita basis, I think cruise ships will come out quite well.”
Contrary to land-based hotels and resorts, there is no waste of energy on a cruise ship, according to Meyer, who said that is a challenge the shipbuilder has been tackling for years and continues to look for new solutions.
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