Viking christened their latest ocean ship, Viking Neptune, this week in a ceremony in Los Angeles with astronaut Nicole Stott serving because the ship’s godmother.
Viking Neptune was in Los Angeles for the day as a part of a 138 day cruise world wide that can go to 28 international locations and 57 ports. The christening ceremony for the cruise ship was held on the World Cruise Heart on the Port of Los Angeles.
The naming ceremony for Viking Neptune is a maritime custom that dates again 1000’s of years. In line with the naming custom, Nicole Stott used a historic Viking broad axe to chop a ribbon that allowed a bottle of Norwegian aquavit to interrupt on the Viking Neptune’s hull.
“Immediately is a proud day for the whole Viking household as we identify our latest ocean ship in Los Angeles, the house of Viking’s U.S. workplace for greater than 20 years,” stated Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “The Viking Neptune is a ship named for each the furthest planet in our photo voltaic system and the god of the ocean—and our latest Viking godmother, Nicole Stott, as a NASA astronaut and aquanaut, additionally has connections to house and the ocean. We’re grateful for her many contributions to the scientific group and are proud to have her as a part of the Viking household.”
A veteran NASA astronaut, Nicole Stott’s expertise contains two spaceflights and 104 days spent dwelling and dealing in house on the House Shuttle and the Worldwide House Station (ISS).
She has carried out one house stroll and was the primary particular person to fly the robotic arm to seize the free-flying HTV cargo car, the final crew member to fly to and from their ISS mission on a House Shuttle, and a member of the ultimate flight crew of House Shuttle Discovery, STS-133. Nicole can also be a NASA aquanaut who lived and labored on the Aquarius Undersea Habitat for 18 days.
Viking Neptune is the eighth ocean cruise ship to affix Viking’s fleet. The ship is almost similar to the earlier seven sister ships and may maintain 930 passengers in 465 balcony staterooms.
The cruise ship can also be the primary within the business to check the usage of hydrogen energy for onboard operations.
The cruise line is planning for a brand new era of cruise ships utilizing hydrogen gas cells that can enable the vessels to function at zero-emissions within the Norwegian Fjords. The primary of those new ships is schedule to enter service in late 2024.
