SH Minerva

Swan Hellenic will sail the Asia Pacific region for the first time in 2026 following the return of SH Minerva which was out of operation for three-years due to sanctions against its previous leasing company, and its ties to Russia.

SH Minerva is now back in the Swan Hellenic fleet—something we were told by the line’s CEO, Andrea Zito, last August that he expected to happen within 12 to 18 months. Well, just a couple weeks ahead of that timeline, Swan Hellenic has announced the return of the vessel.

Swan Hellenic has named Beth Stolyar as Sales Director, Australia/New Zealand, effective immediately. Stolyar joins the cultural cruise specialist after nearly 4.5 years with MSC Cruises Australia where she held the title of Groups & Product Specialist.

Swan Hellenic has announced its 2024 worldwide program, encompassing polar regions and cultural expeditions to the coastlines of the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Africa, Madagascar, Canada, the Caribbean, and more.

Swan Hellenic’s inaugural season of Western Australia’s Kimberley region this year is in limbo. The five-star cultural expedition operator’s first ship, SH Minerva, is currently out of service, and future voyages on the 76-stateroom vessel aren’t showing online until November 2023, LATTE can reveal.

Swan Hellenic has introduced an end-of-year incentive for its Australian and New Zealand trade partners. The promotion coincides with Swan Hellenic’s inaugural Kimberley season in 2023.

Swan Hellenic has enlisted Brigita Devries as its first Pacific General Manager as the company ramps up for its maiden Kimberley season in 2023.

In hindsight, the COVID pandemic certainly wasn’t an ideal time for a new cruise brand to launch, but that didn’t hold back the minds behind the rebirth of Swan Hellenic.

Swan Hellenic will rely almost entirely on the Australian market to fill its Kimberley sailings in 2023 – and beyond – the cruise line’s SVP Global Sales and Marketing, Alfredo Spadon has revealed exclusively to LATTE.

Swan Hellenic has released full details of its 2022/2023 cultural expedition cruises as its fleet grows to two and then three purpose-built, ultramodern ice-class expedition cruise ships.

Swan Hellenic has accepted delivery of its second ice-class expedition cruise ship, SH Vega, from the Helsinki Shipyard. The sister-ship to SH Minerva is now on her way to Norway and her first cultural expedition cruise of the Arctic, an 11-day exploration of the Svalbard Archipelago, departing Tromsø on 20 July 2022.

Helsinki Shipyard, the company tasked with building three new ships for Swan Hellenic, is inviting tenders for the sale of the second newbuild expedition cruise ship ‘Hull No 517’ (otherwise known as SH Vega).