Massive Viking order keeping German shipyard busy

By the end of 2013, the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany, will have built at least 13 river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises since it first signed on with the river cruise line in 2011.

Neptun has built some 18 river cruise ships over the past 10 years, but by the end of next year, that number will be up to at least 30 thanks to Viking's massive order, according to Manfred Muller-Fahrenholz, managing director of Neptun. Last week Muller-Fahrenholz hosted a small group of journalists in Rostock to see the shipyard's work firsthand.

The shipyard delivered its first ship for Viking in late 2011, the 188-passenger Viking Prestige, and has now partnered with Viking on its aggressive growth plan for its new class of vessels, the 190-passenger Longships. Viking is launching six Longships this year and another six in 2013, and it has an option for another half-dozen in 2014.

So how is the shipyard managing the oversized order?

For one, it has shifted most of its energy from other shipbuilding projects to predominantly building river cruise ships.

But with such a big order, the ships can get backlogged. The first four Viking Longships were supposed to launch in tandem last week in Amsterdam, but two of the four ships have been delayed at the shipyard, a setback that affects five sailings.

The Viking Njord and Viking Freya, which were supposed to launch last week alongside sister ships the Viking Idun and Viking Odin, instead will launch on April 15 and 18, respectively.

But for the remaining Longships, Muller-Fahrenholz assured that the vessels will be ready on time, taking into account the 18 months it takes to build a vessel from conceptualization to launch. The Viking ships are being built on a staggered schedule with about four to five weeks between each vessel.

"We have a lot of ships under construction at the same time," Muller-Fahrenholz explained. Those ships are just in different stages of construction. So, for instance, the Viking Njord and Viking Freya were afloat on the shipyard's dock, where the interior details were being finished.

Inside a large hangar were the hulls of the next two Longships: the Viking Embla and Viking Aegir, which launch July 8 and Aug. 15, respectively.

Neptun doesn't exclusively build for Viking. It also constructs river cruise ships for German line A-Rosa and has built ships in the past for use by Avalon Waterways. But with Neptun's annual shipbuilding abilities maxing out at around nine ships per year, Viking's orders have practically monopolized the yard's output.

The Neptun shipyard, with a history that extends back to 1850, was purchased by the Meyer Neptun group in 1997. The company began taking orders for river cruise vessels in 2000, and in 2003 it commissioned new production halls to accommodate the growing demand of the market. Neptun also constructs ferries and gas tanks.

The shipyard has 450 employees and is also home to a training program for younger students interested in learning about ship construction.

As river cruise construction evolves, so, too, do the innovations, and the Longships are no exception. Neptun has incorporated several new design features that Viking developed. For example, the new Longships are being designed with a new indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace at the front of the ship, a feature that the shipyard was able to add by squaring off the bow of the ship, rather than having it come to a point like it does on most river cruise ships.

"The filling ratio of these ships is amazing," Muller-Fahrenholz said about the success Viking has had with the Longships. As for the financing of the large order of ships, he acknowledged that the German banks financially backing their construction "were a little reluctant in the beginning, but then they were convinced."

Regarding the shipbuilding and ship-filling obligations the financiers were told that Neptun and Viking would meet, Muller-Fahrenholz said: "To date, we are ahead of the plan."

Follow Michelle Baran on Twitter @mbtravelweekly.