Debuting at the 2023 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, Viking’s new flagship Viking 90 Open Bridge is a fishing boat that’s really a superyacht…
You could hardly call it a downsizing. But New Jersey-based Viking Yachts – acknowledged builder of the Rolls-Royce of offshore fishing boats – is replacing its flagship Viking 92 with a Viking 90. Not that it was by choice. Since the 92’s introduction in 2015, Viking has built 21 of them, at around $12 million apiece, and wanted to continue.
But tough new emission regs mandated by the International Maritime Organization, would have meant that any new Viking 92 had to be fitted with complex exhaust treatment technology, called Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR).
That, according to Viking, would have added weight, reduced performance, made engine room maintenance a nightmare, and sent the yacht’s price tag soaring. So it dropped the 92 and developed a brand new Viking 90.
The key was a switch to the latest Caterpillar and MTU 16-cylinder diesels. The base engine is now a 1,925hp C32A, with the option of either a 2,433hp CAT C32B, or a mighty 2,635hp MTU M96L.
Viking recently pulled the wraps off the new Viking 90 Skybridge model with its luxurious, enclosed second-level. At the 2023 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, it’ll be unveiling the more deep-sea fishing focused Viking 90 Open Bridge, which comes – as the name suggests – with an open flybridge.
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With its traditional, salty-dog lines, trademark towering bow and nothing-so-whimpy-as-handrails, mile-long foredeck, this new Viking 90 is a beast. Especially thundering along at its 40-knot top speed. Fish from the deep need to be scared, very scared.
Yet stepping inside is like entering a high-luxury superyacht. Here it’s all glove-soft leather, mirror-varnished timber, king-sized beds and five elegant staterooms.
Alas, Viking has yet to photograph this new Viking 90 Open Bridge, but gave us a rendering (see above) and some snaps of the Viking 90 Skybridge (see below). Trust us, you’ll be impressed.
Viking 90 Open Bridge specification
LOA: 90ft (27.4m)
Beam: 23ft 2ins (7.05m)
Engines (base): 2 x 1,925hp CAT C32s
Top speed: 35 knots
Starting price: $12 million
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