The SH Minerva has welcomed guests back for its first expedition cruise after almost three years laid up.

Rejoining Swan Hellenic’s fleet, the ship is sailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a 17-night expedition cruise to Antarctica.

The vessel was welcomed back into service with a traditional ceremony held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Thursday.

According to Swan Hellenic, the gesture was aimed at marking the “ship’s new beginning” in a symbolic way.

The ship is now scheduled to offer a series of expedition cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falklands departing from Ushuaia.

As the first vessel built for the company since it was relaunched in 2020, the SH Minerva originally entered service in late 2021.

With the Russia-Ukraine conflict bringing sanctions, the vessel was forced to suspend operations just a few months later due to the financing arrangement on the ship.

After spending almost three years laid up at the port of Fray Bentos in Uruguay, the SH Minerva was reacquired by Swan Hellenic in mid-August.

Later in the year, the 152-guest vessel sailed to Montevideo to undergo preparations ahead of resuming service in Antarctica.

Before sailing to Buenos Aires for its first cruise, the SH Minerva met with its sister ship, the 2022-built SH Vega, which is also repositioning to Antarctica for the season.

Swan Hellenic said that the departure of the ships from Montevideo marked the first time that two of its vessels left a port together.

Following its season in Antarctica, the SH Minerva is set to mark Swan Hellenic’s debut in the Asia-Pacific region.

The deployment takes place between April and May 2026 and include five cultural expedition cruises to destinations in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan.

In addition to the SH Minerva and the SH Vega, Swan Hellenic also operates the slightly larger SH Diana, which entered service in 2023.