Viking has officially named its newest river ship, Viking Aton, in a ceremony in Aswan, Egypt.

The ship’s ceremonial godfather, Richard Riveire, designer of Viking’s river, ocean and expedition vessels, offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing.

The 82-guest Viking Aton, sister ship to Viking Osiris, has been specifically built to navigate the Nile and will sail the Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.

Additional ships in the Egypt fleet currently include Viking Ra and MS Antares. By 2025, Viking will have six ships sailing the Nile.

The line will also welcome Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek to the wider river fleet, in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Viking Aton an ‘elegant vessel’

Viking chairman Torstein Hagen said: “We are pleased to welcome Viking Aton to our growing fleet. Together with her sister ship, the Viking Osiris, they are the newest and most elegant vessels on the Nile, by far.

“With extraordinarily strong interest in Egypt among our guests, we are proud to bring another state-of-the-art vessel to this region and we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to the country’s rich cultural treasures.

“I am also thankful to my friend, Richard Riveire, for his tremendous contributions to Viking, including the design of this new vessel and our other award-winning river, ocean and expedition ships.”

Riveire added: “It is an incredible honour to be the godfather of the Viking Aton and to celebrate the growing Viking fleet.

“For well over a decade, I have been proud to work alongside Tor, Karine and the Viking team to help design how the Viking brand comes to life on board.

“Together, we share the belief that the design of each Viking ship should showcase the destination, wherever you may be in the world.”