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Swan Hellenic reacquires 2021-built Minerva after sanctions limbo
The ship that launched a brand revival was stuck in a legal battle linked to sanctioned Russian leasing company, GTLK
Swan Hellenic has acquired the flagship that relaunched a storied UK cruise brand in 2022.
After more than three years of negotiations during which Minerva was laid up in Uruguay, the line reacquired the expedition cruise ship on 25 July 2025, using shareholder funds.
Cyprus-headquartered Swan Hellenic said the vessel will undergo a reactivation consisting of ’routine maintenance and preparations’ before its planned re-entry to commercial sailings with a season of Antarctic cruises beginning in November 2025 and then the vessel’s first Asia-Pacific cruise season beginning in March 2026.
2021-built Minerva completed a season of Antarctic sailings with charterers Swan Hellenic shortly after its delivery in late 2021, but was held in or near Montevideo, Uruguay, after being forced to halt sailings in April 2022 due to sanctions against the vessel’s owners, Russian-owned leasing group GTLK, linked Russia’s ongoing war against neighbouring Ukraine.
GTLK is reportedly owned by the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Transport, and international sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have seen GTLK Europe, and its subsidiary GTLK Europe Capital, the subject of legal proceedings and liquidation in Ireland.
Despite GTLK entering administration in May 2023, the vessel remained in an ownership limbo as Swan Hellenic attempted to find a route to ownership or operatorship of Minerva while navigating sanctions-related roadblocks.
In mid-July 2022, discussing a narrow miss that saw Swan Hellenic exercise its right to purchase its second cruise ship, Vega, from a sanctioned entity, Swan Hellenic chief executive Andrea Zito told Riviera a bit about the diplomatic and administrative problems with purchasing Minerva.
At the time, Mr Zito said, “We do not own Minerva, it is owned by an Irish entity that is sanctioned. We have exercised our right to purchase, but to buy a sanctioned item you have to have the green light from the authorities, and we have waited two months for the Bank of Ireland to give the right to buy.”
Mr Zito said Swan Hellenic was bringing in new investors, a mix of leasing companies and private equities, and he was hopeful, then, that the transaction would be approved to take place within weeks, which did not happen.
Two years later, with the vessel cleared for resumption of operations, Mr Zito said, “We’re delighted to welcome back our flagship Minerva. A symbol of Swan Hellenic’s rebirth, [its] inaugural Asia-Pacific season will take us to fly our flag across the globe, reaching every ocean and continent. It’s a moment of immense pride for us."
The vessel’s return concludes a unique chapter in the restart of the Swan Hellenic brand, which was established 70 years ago and then shuttered before a group of entrepreneurs acquired the Swan Hellenic brand rights in 2020.
The relaunched Swan Hellenic now has its full complement of three small expedition cruise ships. Two Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ships in Minerva and Vega with ice-strengthened hulls, were launched in December 2021 and July 2022, respectively. Both accommodate 152 passengers in 76 cabins. Swan Hellenic’s third vessel, Diana, is a slightly larger PC 6 ice-class vessel launched in April 2023 that accommodates 192 passengers in 96 cabins.
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