Two beluga whales that had not seen the sea have been moved to a new open water sanctuary off the south coast of Iceland.

The whales, Little Grey and Little White are in a care area at the world’s first open water sanctuary for Belugas at Klettsvik Bay. 

Both the whales, who were captured at a very young age off the coast of Russia, spent years in a Chinese aquarium and are now about to taste freedom in the 8-acre sanctuary, thanks to a leviathan relocation project that has been years in the making.

The Beluga Whale Sanctuary’s general manager Audrey Padgett told CNN, “It’s been quite the journey for these two. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s definitely been a labor of love.”

Little Grey and Little White were moved from a Russian research facility to the Changfeng Ocean World aquarium in Shanghai in 2011. Merlin Entertainments, a company which opposed to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity brought the aquarium the next year. 

With each of the whales weighting more than a ton, the job of transferring them was not easy and  involved specially designed equipment, veterinarians and large amounts of water and ice to keep them hosed down. Padgett said, “If you’re trying to take your cat or your dog somewhere, you want them to have a positive association with travel … We had to make the Belugas a comfortable as possible.” 

The whales were kept in a care facility with a quarantine pool for several months after reaching Iceland in order to adjust to the colder environment. 

According to Padgett, more than 300 Belugas are in captivity around the world.  She said, “Some Belugas are in cramped and unsuitable conditions,” she added. “And if what we can learn here from Little White and Little Grey can help improve welfare for other animals … that’s really the point.”