Viking River Cruises dates to 1997 when company chairman Tor Hagen purchased four Russian river cruise ships. The company has since grown into the largest river cruise company in Europe. In 2012, Viking began launching its 190-passenger Viking Longships, kicking off a building spree: Viking launched 55 river cruise ships over the course of six years. After a shipbuilding slowdown in 2017 and 2018, the company will kick back into gear with the launch of seven vessels planned for 2019. In addition to Europe, Viking also sails in China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Egypt and has a total of 65 vessels in its global fleet.