Le commandant-Charcot

LE COMMANDANT-CHARCOT IS THE FIRST HYBRID ELECTRIC ICEBREAKER. BY NAMING THE LATEST JEWEL IN ITS FLEET AFTER HIM, PONANT WANTED TO PAY TRIBUTE TO JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARCOT, AN EMBLEMATIC FIGURE OF THE frst French polar expeditons. In the name of this ‘gentleman of the poles’, this revolutonary icebreaker will push the boundaries of sailing in the Arctc and Antarctc and write new pages in the history of cruise travel.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF VARD, UNLESS MENTIONED OTHERWISE.

Adoctor, explorer, and exceptonal sailor, Jean-Baptste Charcot (1867-1936) launched the era of great French polar exploratons. As early as 1902, he had already crossed the Arctc Circle and embarked on a long series of exploratons that would take him from Greenland to Antarctca. Aboard his ship, the PourquoiPas?, Captain Charcot would expand our knowledge of the mysterious world of ice. Topographic studies, cartography, surveys of the seabed, oceanographic readings, studies of magnetsm, collectons of zoological and botanical samples: the learnings from these scientfc expeditons is vast. But this skilled sportsman, a rugby player and Olympic medal winner in sailing, was also a humanist, passionate about mult-cultural encounters with people of the icy North.

Le Commandant-Charcot is a hybrid electric polar exploraton vessel with ice-breaking technology powered by LNG, a Polar Class PC2 ship that includes all the latest ‘green’ technologies such as 100% waste sorted on board and waste treatment. The vessel will be fted with facilites and equipment for research, providing the scientfc world with a platorm for observaton, research, and analysis to study water, air, ice, and biodiversity in extreme polar regions. Le Commandant-Charcot will be sailing in the world’s most remote regions: the Geographic North Pole, Northeast Greenland’s Natonal Park, circumnavigaton of the Svalbard archipelago, the Bellingshausen Sea, Charcot and Pierre I Islands, Weddell Sea, and the Larsen Ice Shelf.

As Vard announced the delivery of Le Commandant-Charcot, a fag exchange ceremony took place on Thursday 29 July on the ship’s helideck. Atlio Dapelo, General Manager Business Unit Cruise at Vard, shares, “The delivery of this amazing vessel >>

150m 28m 10m 15 knots PC2

Bureau Veritas French 5 270 235 31,757t 34MW 42MW Sovik, Norway

is the true evidence of the highly technical competence in our engineering and producton departments. The technical result is unique and we are proud of the job we have done together. We wish to thank everyone involved for the dedicaton and the commitment showed during the entre project.” Arnt Inge Gjerde, Yard Director Vard Søviknes, proudly states, “We have built this fantastc ship in the good spirit of Vard with excellent teamwork, dedicaton, and a soluton-oriented mindset. We are proud to deliver this one-of-a-kind vessel to Ponant, fully tested and tuned for polar exploratons.”

This exquisite polar exploraton ship is developed by Ponant, Strling Design Internatonal, Aker Arctc, and Vard, and is built by Vard Tulcea in Romania and Vard Søviknes in Norway. The vessel features high-quality products and solutons from Vard and Fincanteri’s specialised enttes.

With Le Commandant-Charcot, Ponant has imagined and envisaged the cruise voyage of tomorrow. The latest additon to their feet will take you following in the footsteps of the great polar explorers in refned surroundings complete with the kind of luxury services never before ofered in the farthest reaches of the southern and

northern hemispheres. The indoor swimming pool, the conservatory, the panoramic restaurant, the Blue Lagoon outdoor restaurant, the Main Lounge, the Observaton Lounge, the lobby; each of the common areas has been designed to convey both French-style discreet luxury and arouse wonder and amazement. The common thread running through all their designs is the desire to allow the light to penetrate and open everything up the extraordinary polar landscapes and scenery. Moreover, this extraordinary polar exploraton ship has been designed with the greatest atenton to detail in terms of safety and respect for the environment.

On board are 135 suites and staterooms, ranging in size from 20 to 115m², providing warm, understated setngs that look out to the outside world. Each has a private balcony or terrace, the Le CommandantCharcot is fully in keeping with the Ponant philosophy of providing a rare and exceptonal ambiance for every passenger welcomed onboard and reinforce the feeling and sense of sailing on a private yacht. At the rear of decks 6 and 7 are four stunning 94m² split-level suites equipped with private terraces and jacuzzis. The 115m² Suite de l’Armateur (Shipowner’s Suite) on deck 8 features wide sliding glass doors ofering stunning panoramic views and opening out onto a 180m² private terrace.