Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1388480
T H E V I K I N G S T O R Y How one man's vision led to a new way to sail WHEN TORSTEIN HAGEN FOUNDED VIKING in 1997 with four river ships in Russia, he had few supporters and even fewer who believed in his vision He was 54 years old and had spent much of his career in Norway in shipping, bearing witness to an industry that was ripe for change Our Norwegian- born patriarch had a deep desire to create something different – and as anyone who has travelled with us will tell you, different is exactly what you get on a Viking voyage In the 24 years since those ships set sail on Russia's rivers, Chairman Torstein – who the Viking family knows simply as 'Tor' – has built an award-winning fleet of ships over 80 strong Now the largest small ship ocean cruise line in the world, whether it's the Pacific, the Danube or even the Mississippi, if it's a waterway you've heard of, chances are Viking sails it And with the recent float out of state-of-the-art ship, Viking Octantis, and Viking Polaris on the way, Viking is embarking on one of our greatest missions yet – polar expeditions A family-owned and operated business when it began, Viking remains a family-owned business to TO R S T E I N H AG E N , T R I ES T E , I TA LY "When we started Viking ocean cruises, very few people gave us a chance, but one shouldn't care too much about what other people think. I thought it could be done, and we did it." To r s t e i n H a g e n , C h a i r m a n , V i k i n g Viking River Cruises established by Torstein Hagen with the purchase of four Russian river ships 1998 With the purchase of KD River Cruises, Viking becomes the largest river cruise operator in Europe 2005 Viking is the first to use hybrid diesel electric engines 2012 1997 Viking purchases nine additional ships and expands operations into the rivers of Europe 2000 Viking introduces French balconies — the first river cruise line to do so 2009 Four state-of-the- art Viking Longships launched, with patented layout and largest river cruise suites in Europe TO R S T E I N H AG E N , T R I ES T E , I TA LY 6