Zhao-Shang-Yi-Dun

China Merchants, one of the country's largest industrial companies has abandoned its efforts to develop a luxury cruise product in China, putting the 'Viking Yi Dun', which it had acquired from Viking in 2021, up for sale. The company had paid nearly $400 million in 2021 as part of its joint venture with Viking to take control of the then 'Viking Sun', which was renamed 'Zhao Shang Yi Dun'. It was listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange in Feb 2026, with a minimum price of RMB 2.9 billion (approximately $420 million). Bid dates were due by mid-March, and there was speculation that Viking might buy back the ship, although it has since been removed from Viking's website. China Merchants imposed strict conditions, requiring the buyer to remove any reference to the China Merchants brand from the vessel within one month of completing the purchase and prohibiting it from marketing the vessel with any association or reference to its previous partnership with China Merchants. Furthermore, it was specified that the Viking brand, the names of all public spaces, including onboard restaurants, and the operating systems are licensed from Viking, but the license is not included in the sale. The buyer can negotiate a new agreement with Viking or waive the use of the licensed brand and systems. The transaction was originally intended for the high-end Chinese luxury market. However, at the time of its launch in 2021, China was still under lockdown due to the pandemic, and the ship was limited to coastal cruises. It sailed at various times from the ports of Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. Prices were considered high for the Chinese market, and additional onboard fare options further increased the total cost. When China finally reopened the international cruise market, the joint venture attempted to reposition the 'Viking Yi Dun', switching from five-day coastal cruises to eight-day cruises. Between September and November 2024 and again in 2025, Viking marketed the ship internationally for cruises departing from China. However, the ship frequently sailed with only 600 passengers, significantly fewer than its capacity of 930, and continued to be a financial loss By 2026, Viking had planned to reposition the ship in Europe.

The 'Viking Sun' has arrived in the Bay of Gibraltar on April 10 to disembark seven passengers and one crew member, all of whom were of Canadian nationality. The eight were transferred at sea and ferried to land, where they will catch a BA flight to London before travelling home to Canada. The transfer, which was announced earlier this week, followed a request from the Canadian High Commissioner in London. There were no cases of Covid-19 on board the 'Viking Sun' and the ship has submitted a clear maritime declaration, therefore she was clear to enter port waters to conduct the operation in the latest in a number of exemptions granted by the Gibraltar Port Authority on humanitarian grounds, with routine cruise calls banned under the Covid-19 lockdown regulations.

The US Coast Guard medevaced a 68-year-old woman from the 'Viking Sun' approximately 225 miles south of San Diego on Jan 1, 2020. The crew of the 'Viking Sun' contacted Coast Guard Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center watchstanders at approximately 8:20 a.m. requesting assistance for a passenger who was displaying symptoms of a stroke. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan crew and a Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew with a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team paramedic aboard to assist. Once on scene, the Jayhawk crew lowered the rescue swimmer to the cruise ship to assess the patient. The helicopter crew then lowered a rescue basket to hoist the patient into the helicopter and transported her to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla just after 12:40 p.m. The patient was reported to be in stable condition.

On Feb 10, 2019, the "Talcahuano" medevaced an American passenger of the "Viking Sun" off the island Santa Maria, in the commune of Coronel. The patient, identified as Sheila Eaton, aged 66 years, jad suffered a head injury and was cared for by the paramedics of the ship before being taken off in complicated conditions due to strong wind. Only after several attempts and after 1,5 hours she waas aboad the "Talcahuano" and taken to Coronel Bay together with her husband and a doctor of the cruise ship, from where she was transferred to a hospital for further diagnosis and treatment. Spanish report with photos: http://www.login.cl/noticias/9201-armada-evacuo-a-pasajera-estadounidense-desde-crucero-en-las-cercanias-de-coronel