Viking Ocean Cruises’ fourth ship has been floated out a year before its planned debut.
The 930-passenger Viking Sun is under construction at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard in Italy.
The vessel is due to enter service in late 2017 in the Caribbean before undertaking a 141-day world cruise covering 35 countries and 66 ports.
Yi Lou, vice president of China Merchant Bank Financial Leasing (CMBFL), served as Viking Sun’s madrina during the float out ceremony.
Viking Cruises chairman Torstein Hagen said: “It is always a proud moment for the entire Viking family when a new ship meets water for the first time.
“CMBFL is an important partner, and we wanted to honour our relationship by naming one of their executives as madrina to our newest ship.”