Swan Hellenic cancels Minerva's 31-night Antarctica cruise

The move comes after the line outlined plans to acquire the GTLK subsidiary company which is currently the registered owner of the 152-passenger ship.

The line – which relaunched in July 2020 – previously held contracts with Helsinki Shipyard to build three luxury expedition ships, financed by GTLK.

However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sanctions were imposed on GTLK, rendering it unable to make payments on the vessels.

But Swan Hellenic now claims to have found a "legal mechanism" which will allow it to take ownership of the GTLK subsidiary.

"The necessary application to the Central Bank of Ireland was finalised some weeks ago and has already been submitted. Approval of the transaction is expected to take 2-3 weeks," the company said.

"Pending the issue of this license by the Central Bank of Ireland, Swan Hellenic has decided to postpone the reactivation of SH Minerva."