STX France has received an order to build two luxury cruise ships[ds_preview] from Viking Ocean Cruises, an affiliate of Viking River Cruises. Delivery will be in spring 2014 and 2015, respectively, and will be part of Viking’s new »Ocean Cruise« brand. An option for a third ship is being considered. With a length of 230 m and a width of 26.5 m they will each include 888 passengers in 444 cabins with a complement of 444 crew members. The contract will represent about 2.5 million man-hours. Construction is expected to start in mid-September 2012 for the first vessel and in mid-September 2013 for the second vessel. The vessels will be operated primarily on the Mediterranean seas and be dedicated mainly to Viking’s US, British and Australian customers.
