The keel of Ponant's newbuild ship Le Commandant Charcot was laid at Vard shipyard in Tulcea on December 14, 2018. The hybrid electric polar exploration ship propelled by LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) will offer its passengers an odyssey in the wake of the greatest polar explorers.
The only French-owned cruise line in the world and global leader in luxury expedition cruising, announced the order of its Le Commandant Charcot in December last year, and the traditional steel-cutting ceremony for the ship was held in November 2018.
The keel laying is the second key stage in the construction of the exceptional vessel and is perfectly on schedule. Le Commandant Charcot is due to be launched in 2020, before the delivery in 2021.
Le Commandant Charcot is expected to become the first exploration ship to surpass the ecological standards that are set out in international regulations. Specially designed for intense polar explorations, with PC2 Polar Class certification, the vessel will be able to reach destinations like the Geographic North Pole and remote sites of Antarctica including Ross Sea, Charcot Island, Peter I Island.