By
Alex Smith |
Swan Hellenic has christened its new ship SH Minerva in a ceremony at Helsinki Shipyard in Finland.
The ceremony was attended by the ship’s grandmother and Finland’s first professor of food culture, Johanna Mäkelä. Juhana Vartiainen, mayor of Helsinki and Mäkelä’s husband, was also present at the ceremony, along with Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic, and Carl-Gustaf Rotkirch, CEO of Helsinki Shipyard.
“We are glad to see this day finally, following the many global challenges that made our task far from easy,” said Jonas Packalén, project manager at Helsinki Shipyard. “Our special thanks to everyone involved in the project for their unstinting dedication and superb work!”
SH Minerva is scheduled to depart the shipyard in the week beginning 29 November, after supply chain disruption and a spike in Covid-19 cases in Finland caused Swan Hellenic to cancel her first two cruises.
“I, too, would like to congratulate everyone at Helsinki for their impeccable work in difficult circumstance and the tight safety measures which have kept SH Minerva a safe environment at all times,” said Andrea Zito. “The vessel has been completed after only 26 months from the signing of the contract, which is a remarkable achievement. We now very much look forward to taking our guests to see what others don’t, exploring in exceptional comfort and style.”