Viking Cruise Line   was established by   Torstein Hagen   in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1997.  He had helped some Russian oligarchs buy a shipping company, and they sold him four river cruise ships cheaply, which became the founding fleet of Viking River Cruises. Must have done well, for in 2000, Viking purchased KD River Cruises of Europe, bringing Viking's fleet up to 26 ships, the largest in the world. Revamped their ships, aiming for older travelers. No gyms and pools, maximizing passenger load. Expanded into China in 2004 with Yangtze River cruises. In 2007 had 23 ships in Europe, Russia and China. In 2011 entered a new phase of growth by sponsoring PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, with plans to ad 40 ships of "longship" design over a five-year period. In 2013, modified name to Viking Cruises to launch oceangoing vessels. Christened two new ships in on back-to-back days in 2014, a Guinness world record. First ocean ship was the Viking Star in 2015, holding 930 passenge