Swan Hellenic for Mission Ocean

Established in the 1950s, Swan Hellenic pioneered the concept of "cultural cruising," focused on the antiquities of Greece, in which well-known academics, writers and clergymen were regularly featured as on-board guest lecturers. At the end of 2019 the concept was relaunched when the new management decided to proudly continue Swan Hellenic expedition spirit ordering 3 new buildings at Helsinki Shipyard for delivery in 2021, 2022 ad 2023. These vessels are cruising in the most pristine areas of the globe enabling its guests a full immersion in the beauties of the oceans and at the same time providing scientists with “ships of opportunity” to monitor the environmental good status of the seas and its biodiversity.

Since then, Swan Hellenic strives to continuously reduce the environmental impact caused by its operations and to raise awareness of its guests on the health of oceans and on the possibility for everyone, even during a cruise, to contribute preserving marine biodiversity.

In a nutshell, this is why Swan Hellenic top management fully share the objectives and approach of the EU Mission Restore our Oceans and Waters and wholeheartedly agree on contributing to it by sharing the “care for the oceans” attitude which pervades all the company operations. Accordingly, Swan Hellenic environmental declaration was mapped with the Mission Implementation Plan resulting in a series of projects and initiatives, called "Swan Hellenic for Mission Ocean" which aims at:

a) keeping green its fleet (currently the most environment friendly in the world) by maintaining and improving it as clean and energy efficient as possible

b) pursuing its stringent on-board water and waste recycling and re-use policy

c) using high tech dynamic position systems, its ships are equipped with, rather than anchoring when off harbours thus avoiding damaging sea bed ecosystems

d) minimizing use of plastics in general and strictly adhering to its "no single use plastic on board" policy as well as encouraging its suppliers to use sustainable packaging

e) reducing microplastic generated by its operationos including using crew uniforms and offering its guests complimentary parkas designed not to contain fleece materials (which can shed hundreds of thousand tiny plastic particles when wearing and washing)

f) continuing and expandung its “ships of opportunity” initiative which already contributes, among others, to Happy Whale, to NASA’s Globe Clouds and to South Georgia Big Seaweed Search programmes; each Swan Hellenic cruise ship is equipped with its own mini expedition laboratory at the disposal of guest scientists

g) involving, throuh Swan Hellenic Citizen Science programme, its guests in the scientific campaigns carried out during its cruises (e.g. in whale and/or bird monitoring) as well as in plastic removal activities done in beaches nearby ports of call.

It should be noted that "Swan Hellenic for Mission Ocean" will also raise the awareness of its guests, citizens and authorities on Mission Ocean objectives, plans and results by hosting conferences and events at its ports of calls and by making available /distributing paperless Mission Ocean information on board its cruise ships.