Resurgent cruise brand Swan Hellenic has commissioned its third and largest newbuild to date, tailored to the cultural expedition segment of the market. After handover by Helsinki Shipyard on March 31, the 125m SH Diana sailed to Palermo to begin her career with a voyage encompassing North African and Iberian ports, before working up Europe’s Atlantic fringe to undertake Arctic sailings.

A scaled-up consort to the company’s ice-classed sisters SH Minerva and SH Vega, the 12,000gt SH Diana employs the same engineering concept as the earlier ships, devised to give economic and environmental advantages against a demanding and multi-faceted worldwide operating programme. The installation comprises a 4.6MW diesel-electric/hybrid propulsion system, incorporating selective catalytic reduction(SCR) technology and a 3MW battery pack. The prime movers for the power plant are four Wartsila medium-speed engines.