Swan Hellenic has taken delivery of its third and largest expedition ship.

The SH Diana is heading to the Mediterranean after being handed over at a shipyard in Helsinki.

The 192-passenger vessel will join 152-passenger capacity ships SH Minerva and SH Vega in the fleet.    

SH Diana is sailing to Palermo in Sicily for its first cultural cruise, a 10-night itinerary covering North Africa before crossing to Seville and Lisbon. 

The ship is then due to depart from Lisbon on April 25 on a nine-night sailing to Amsterdam ahead of a naming ceremony on May 4 and cruises to the Scandinavian fjords and a full Arctic season.

Swan Hellenic chief executive Andrea Zito said: “We’re delighted to have taken delivery of this exceptionally beautiful and versatile new five-star vessel.

“As the largest ship in our fleet, she is the first to be outfitted with large tender boats as well as expedition zodiacs, offering guests a wide variety of extraordinary in-depth experiences seeing what others don’t.”