Viking floats out its latest Nile River ship

The newest Viking ship, slated to set sail in Egypt later this year, has been floated out.

A traditional float-out ceremony was held April 4 for the Viking Aton at the Massara shipyard in Cairo, where it’s preparing to move into the final stage of construction. Torstein Hagan, Viking’s chairman and founder, along with Sayed Farouk, chairman of the Arab Contractors, attended the ceremony. The Viking Aton will now move to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.

The 82-passenger ship will debut on the Nile in August sailing the company’s 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary. The Aton will join its sister ship, the Viking Osiris, as well as the Viking Ra on the Nile. The Osiris launched on the Nile last year.

Viking plans to have six ships sailing on the Nile River by 2025. Two new sister ships, the Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek, are under construction and will be delivered in 2024 and 2025, respectively.