PHOTO: Viking Cruises christened two new ships on the Douro River built by river cruise entrepreneur Mario Ferreira. (Photos by James Shillinglaw)

Viking Cruises christened another two river ships on Friday, March 21 in Porto, Portugal, completing a week in which it introduced a record-breaking total of 18 new vessels. Those included 16 new Viking Longships, the company’s signature 190-guest river ships.

In the evening ceremony in Porto, Laura Ferreira, wife of the prime minister of Portugal, who focus on geriatrics and working with the elderly, named Viking Hemming. Ana Moura, one of the most popular faddists (singers of fado) in Portugal, christened Viking Torgil, and also performed for invited guests and dignitaries (see video below).

PHOTO: Ana Moura, one of the most popular faddists (singers of fado) in Portugal, christened Viking Torgil and performed at the ceremony. 

Viking Chairman Tor Hagen paid tribute to Mario Ferreira, president and CEO of Douro Azul, whose team, in consultation with Viking, built and will operate the two new ships. Hagen even joked that the two ships had been described as “even better than” than his own Longships, according to a cruise reporter he had spoken with earlier. He called the two ships “baby Longships” blending Scandinavian and Portuguese tastes.

Viking Hemming and Viking Torgil, two ships designed to cruise the Douro River, each have passenger capacity of 106 with 53 staterooms. Unlike the Viking Longships, they even have a small pool on the top sundeck. On the other hand, they have similar décor to the Viking Longships, even though they were built not by Viking but Ferreira, who dominates river cruising on the Douro.

Ferreira, who has worked since 1993 to promote cruises on the Douro, now has 10 ships on the river sailing under such brands as AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Uniworld and Viking. For its part, Viking now has 30 new Longships in the European river cruise market, and a total fleet of 52 ships worldwide.