The first Minerva is a cruise ship built in 1989 and originally intended as a Soviet research vessel the Okean. The deal to purchase her fell through and she was purchased by Swan Hellenic (at the time a subsidiary of P&O Cruises) in 1996 and renamed Minerva. She is 436 feet long has a beam of 65.6 feet and measures 12 500 gross tons. She sailed with Swan Hellenic until her lease ran out in 2003.