The last sistership in the PONANT EXPLORERS series of 6 expedition class cruise ships, Le Jacques Cartier, has been awarded Bureau Veritas class notation NR614 for URN (Underwater Radiated Noise).
The award of the notation reflects the commitment of Ponant to reducing the environmental impact of its vessels and operations.
NR614 establishes requirements for the measurement of URN and the ‘acoustic sound signature’ that is emitted by self-propelled vessels to support the mitigation and management of the impact of noise on marine fauna in shallow and deep waters.
Ponant's Le Jacques-Cartier is among the world's few cruise ships to have obtained the certification, rewarding the "cutting-edge design in terms of environmental conservation" of Ponant's EXPLORERS series.
The sound tests had been carried out in September 2020, off the coast of Morgat, in the Gulf of Morbihan, Brittany. Via a measurement buoy in the form of a floating line with three hydrophones, Bureau Veritas experts with support from acoustic specialists Quiet Oceans analyzed the sound radiation from the ship to assess the acoustic signature of Le Jacques-Cartier.
The URN notation is valid for five years at a maximum speed of 13 knots. It is provided in addition to Bureau Veritas Comfort 1 certification, guaranteeing travellers the lowest possible noise impact level, which has already been issued to the entire fleet of Ponant by Bureau Veritas.
In 2017, Ponant supported the ECHO program initiative that was taken by the Port of Vancouver, BC Canada. Ponant’s vessels deliberately reduced their speed in a major feeding area for whales, in order to reduce underwater noise. Subsequently, the cruise line extended the measures deciding to limit the average speed of all its ships to ten knots, regardless of the navigation zone in order to mitigate the impact on underwater fauna.