Viking has named its newest river ships - Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek - in a special ceremony in Egypt. The Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek are identical sister ships to the Viking Aton and the Viking Osiris and are state-of-the-art vessels designed specifically to navigate the Nile River on Viking’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary and built at Massara shipyard in Cairo.
On hand at the ceremony were dignitaries The Hon. Edward Herbert, who served as ceremonial godfather of the Viking Hathor whose great-great-grandfather, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, helped in finding the tomb of King Tutankhamen near Luxor. Mohamed El Banna, founder of Cosmos Egypt and a member of the Egyptian Senate, served as the ceremonial godfather of the Viking Sobek.
"Today, we are proud to welcome the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek to our growing fleet in Egypt. Along with their sister ships, we believe they are by far the most elegant vessels on the Nile,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking.
“We are very grateful for our continued close friendship with the Carnarvon family and that Eddie has honored us by serving as godfather of the Viking Hathor. For more than 15 years, Mohamed El Banna has been a part of the extended Viking family, helping to take good care of our guests in Egypt, and it is a great honor that he is serving as godfather of the Viking Sobek. As our award-winning fleet on the Nile continues to grow, we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to this phenomenal destination.”
The naming ceremony of the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek took place at Viking’s exclusive docking location in Luxor and was followed by a celebratory dinner inside the nearby Karnak Temple. Viking’s guests also enjoyed a performance by Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of the world’s leading crossover sopranos and godmother of the Viking Jupiter®, who sang the Egyptian, Norwegian and United Kingdom’s national anthems in their native languages.
Hosting 82 guests in 41 staterooms, the new Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek are inspired by Viking’s award-winning river and ocean ships with the elegant Scandinavian design for which Viking is known. An identical sister ship to the Viking Osiris and the Viking Aton, the Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek feature several aspects familiar to Viking guests, such as a distinctive square bow and an indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.
Viking plans to welcome four additional ships in the next two years—the Viking Amun and the Viking Thoth in 2025 and the Viking Sekhmet and the Viking Ptah in 2026—which would bring Viking’s fleet to 10 vessels on the Nile River.
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