Float out is a major construction milestone for a ship, as it marks the first encounter of the steel construction with the water, which will carry it throughout its lifetime.
The same was for Viking Ocean Cruises’ first ship – the 930-passenger Viking Star- set to debut in early 2015.
The traditional ceremony, which took place on Monday, June 23 at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard outside Venice, Italy, kicked off the final stage of outfitting and interior build-out.
Viking also announced that Trude Drevland, the mayor of Bergen, Norway, will be godmother to Viking Star and will officially “name” the ship during a christening ceremony on May 17, 2015 – Norwegian Constitution Day.
“Trude,” as she is known throughout Norway, was on-hand at the shipyard to assist with the float-out ceremony, helping weld coins to the ship – a good luck practice that dates back to Roman times – and cutting a cord to allow water to begin flowing into the ship’s building dock.
[mappress] Press Release, July 14th, 2014