Swan Hellenic plans to proceed with cruises on its new ship, the SH Vega, despite the Helsinki shipyard putting it up for auction on July 1. As the priority buyer, the company submitted a bid and says it is ready to take control of the ship before its Arctic cruises begin on July 20.
The auction announcement came about because the leasing company GTLK Europe defaulted on payments for the ship following sanctions imposed on it for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Swan Hellenic Statement
As a result of the sanctions imposed in April, the leasing company GTLK Europe defaulted on payments stipulated in the construction contract for the NB 517 SH Vega. Furthermore, since all assets belonging to GTLK must be frozen in the EU, GTLK will not be able to take delivery of the vessel.
In light of GTLK's default, the Helsinki Shipyard has initiated the legally required auction process for the new build, as stipulated in the shipbuilding contract. Although the bidding process is underway and will be officially completed shortly, Swan Hellenic, as the priority buyer, has already submitted its bid and is in an advanced stage of preparing the documents for the transfer of ownership of the SH Vega. Swan Hellenic is ready to assume full control of the vessel once the bidding process is finalized.
Therefore, we expect there will be no changes to the plans for cruises scheduled to depart from Tromsø on July 20th for the Arctic season.
