Swan Hellenic hopes SH Minerva ownership resolution is near

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SH Minerva is pictured in Ushuaia, Argentina during the 2021/22 Antarctica season. The ship hasn't operated then and remains off Montevideo, Uruguay
Swan Hellenic canceled SH Minerva's 31-night cruise on Feb. 7 as the ship remains out of service pending resolution of its ownership.

SH Minerva hasn't operated since completing the 2021/22 Antarctica season and has been at anchorage off Montevideo, Uruguay for what is going on a year now.

Application to take ownership submitted

Today Swan Hellenic said it had submitted an application to the Central Bank of Ireland to take ownership of SH Minerva from the Russian-owned leasing company GTLK Europe, which is under EU sanctions, and that the transaction's approval was expected to take to to three weeks.

Discussions concluded

This followed negotiations and discusssions ongoing since September and concluded this month.

SH Minerva's Antarctica program, if it had operated, would have ended with the Feb. 7 cruise's completion on March 4.

SH Vega has been sailing, SH Diana nearing completion

Meanwhile, the company's second ship, SH Vega, has been operating its Antarctica program, as scheduled, since November.

Last week SH Diana was floated out of Helsinki Shipyard and the yard and Swan Hellenic in a joint release said the vessel is on track to begin its April 15 inaugural cruise from Palermo, Italy to Lisbon before making its way up Europe's West Atlantic for Arctic sailings.