Le Commandant Charcot

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History
Wallis and Futuna
NameLe Commandant Charcot
NamesakeJean-Baptiste Charcot
OwnerCompagnie du Ponant
Port of registryWallis and Futuna Mata Utu
Builder
  • Vard Tulcea, Romania (hull)
  • Vard Søviknes, Norway (outfitting)[4]
CostNOK 2.7 billion[4]
Laid downDecember 2018[3]
LaunchedMarch 2020[2]
CompletedJuly 2021[1]
IdentificationIMO number: 9846249
StatusIn service
General characteristics [5]
TypeCruise ship
TonnageAbout 30,000 GT[4]
Length150 m (492 ft)
Beam28 m (92 ft)
Draught10 m (33 ft)
Ice classPolar Class 2
Installed power
  • 4 × Wärtsilä 14V31DF (4 × 7,700 kW)
  • 2 × Wärtsilä 10V31DF (2 × 5,500 kW)[7][8]
PropulsionDiesel-electric; two ABB Azipod propulsion units (2 × 17 MW)[6]
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) (open water)
Capacity270 passengers in 135 cabins[4]
Crew187

Le Commandant Charcot is an icebreaking cruise ship operated by the French shipping company Compagnie du Ponant. Named after the French polar scientist Jean-Baptiste Charcot, the vessel was built at Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania, from where she was moved to Søviknes for final outfitting and delivery in 2021.[5]

Le Commandant Charcot is a Polar Class 2 rated icebreaking vessel capable of reaching remote polar destinations such as the Geographic North Pole. She features a hybrid power plant powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electric batteries.[4]

The ship was launched in March 2020[2] and left the yard in Romania on 29 March, heading for Norway. She arrived at VARD shipyard in Søvik, Haram, Norway on 28 April 2020.[9] In June 2021, she was in the Arctic for the first time during a test drive.[10]

After delivery on 29 July 2021[11], Le Commandant Charcot sailed from mainland Norway to Svalbard and from there to the Geographic North Pole, where she arrived on 6 September 2021.[12]

In December 2021, the ship will undertake a 16-day exploration cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina to the Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula, allowing passengers to experience a total solar eclipse from the Weddell Sea ice pack.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ "Le Commandant Charcot delivered". Vard Group AS. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ponant : Après sa mise à l'EAU, le Commandant Charcot quitte la Roumanie". 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ Keel Laid for Le Commandant Charcot. Cruise Industry News, 27 December 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e VARD secures contract for the design and construction of the first electric hybrid cruise icebreaker with LNG propulsion for PONANT. VARD, 18 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Le Commandant Charcot. Le Commandant Charcot. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  6. ^ World's first hybrid icebreaker for cruising powered by ABB. electrive.com, 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  7. ^ Wärtsilä to power Ponant's world-first hybrid electric icebreaker. Seatrade Cruise News, 21 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  8. ^ Wärtsilä 31DF. Wärtsilä. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Ponant : la coque du Commandant Charcot est arrivée en Norvège" (in French). 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Ponant : Le Commandant Charcot achève ses essais glace en Arctique". 25 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Le Commandant Charcot delivered". 3 August 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  12. ^ PONANT [@Cie_ponant] (6 September 2021). "Ce lundi 6 septembre 2021 à 10h38, Le Commandant Charcot a atteint le pôle Nord géographique ! Un moment fort qui concrétise l'aventure unique de ce navire d'exception. Une première pour un navire français, propulsé au Gaz Naturel Liquéfié. © Alexiane Eymard, Etienne Garcia" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Le Commandant Charcot Review". CruiseMapper. Retrieved 28 July 2021.

External links[]


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