Helsinki Shipyard floats out hybrid diesel-electric expedition ship

Finnish shipbuilder Helsinki Shipyard has floated out a hybrid diesel-electric expedition ship SH Diana being built for Swan Hellenic.

SH Diana’s fitting out is already underway, as the vessel readies for its maiden cruise, leaving Palermo in Italy for Lisbon in Portugal on 15 April. Diana will then make its way up the West Atlantic seaboard of Europe for explorations of the Arctic.

The Panama-flagged polar ice-class expedition ship is classed by Lloyd’s Register. The vessel features hybrid diesel-electric engines and has a capacity for 192 guests and 141 staff. At 12,100 gross tonnage, the ship spans a length of 125 meters, a beam of 23 meters, and a maximum draft of 5.45 meters.

It can achieve a maximum speed of 15.5 knots and a cruising speed of 14.5 knots. Its endurance is 8,000 nautical miles/40 days.

The order for the hybrid vessel was placed in 2020.

“We are delighted with the construction progress and quality of SH Diana, a Polar Class PC6 vessel with state-of-the-art ship technology and sustainability that will enter service as planned in April. We look forward to welcoming our guests aboard her to experience our cultural expedition cruises with the first-time option of choosing between shore exploration by tender boat as well as expedition zodiac,” Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic Limited, said.

Swan Hellenic was relaunched in July 2020 and has three ships in its fleet. SH Minerva and SH Vega, two new 5-star Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ships with ice-strengthened hulls, were launched in December 2021 and July 2022 respectively.

A slightly larger PC 6 ice-class vessel, SH Diana will be arriving in early 2023.