Swan Hellenic Regains Ship After Long Legal Battle Over Russian Sanctions
Expedition cruise line Swan Hellenic has finally been able to regain its flagship, the SH Minerva, after an exasperating three-year legal battle related to the sanctions placed on Russian companies after the invasion of Ukraine. The ship has been laid up in Uruguay since the spring of 2022 while lawyers sought to find a solution to free the ship from an unintentional legal trap.
The expedition cruise ship, which was delivered in 2021, was built at the Helsinki Shipyard as the first of ultimately three ships used to restart the famed Swan Hellenic brand, which was known as a pioneer in expeditions dating to the 1950s. The company used a common legal structure with the ships being built for a single purpose finance company, which in turn was leasing them long-term to Swan Hellenic.
The leasing deal was with an Irish subsidiary of Russian financial giant GTLK. After the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions, Swan Hellenic was barred from making lease payments on the ship, but due to the legal structure and sanctions also could not buy the ship. Norway’s Havila found itself in a similar situation with its fleet of coastal cruise ships being built in Turkey and also financed by a subsidiary of GTLK. Havila was able to complete is refinancing in July 2023 to free its ships, but it would take Swan Hellenic two more years of legal battles.
“We’re delighted to welcome back our flagship SH Minerva,” said Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito, announcing a deal has finally been completed. “It’s a moment of immense pride for us.”
Swan Hellenic in March 2022 had declared its intent to buy the leasing companies, but that too was caught in the legal entanglement of the sanctions. To free Swan Hellenic’s second and third ships from the legal trap, Helsinki Shipyard ultimately declared the construction agreements void and auctioned the incomplete ships, making it possible for the company to buy the ships. However, the process of freeing SH Minerva proved more complicated and became even more involved in May 2023 when the GTLK subsidiary was declared insolvent and placed in the hands of liquidators.
Swan Hellenic reports that the liquidators who had control of GTLK Europe and its subsidiaries obtained compliance with all the applicable sanctions for the sale of the assets, including SH Minerva. After lengthy negotiations, Swan Hellenic has now been able to acquire the cruise ship in accordance with all applicable sanctions. The transaction was completed on July 25 using shareholders’ funds.
The cruise ship remains at Fray Bentos, Uruguay. The company reports it will undergo routine maintenance and preparations for its return to service in November 2025. It has been in Uruguay since April 2022, when it completed its Antarctic cruise season while the company proceeded with operations of its sister ship SH Vega, introduced in July 2022, and the larger SH Diana, introduced in April 2023.
SH Minerva is a Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ship with an ice-strengthened hull. She accommodates 152 passengers in 76 suites. Swan Hellenic reports she will join the fleet with all three ships operating the 2025-2026 Antarctic cruise season. Then, in March 2026, SH Minerva will launch the company’s first-ever Asia-Pacific season. She will sail to the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan.