PONANT strengthen its French heritage by naming the new expedition vessels after famous explorers.
by Earl of Cruise
by Earl of Cruise
Famous French
explorers are choosen by PONANT to name the new
expedition vessels, and to stress out the French character of the luxury
expedition company and their ships. The quartet will inaugurate in the years
2018 till 2019.
Rendering courtesy by STERLING DESIGN and PONANT
courtesy by PONANT
You
may ask why they use at first "LE"?
As
all vessels in France, so in French, are male. Any French ship should be
adressed as "he the ..." or "der ...", etc. But that would
be a tautology in this case, as the given names are selfexplaning with the
article "LE" and so the sex.
And
then, why such "unpronaucable" names?
At
first not for those who speak `la langue française´ - the French
language (translate google may help with its sound function, learn pronouncing
the names correct). Second it is a "high five" for the French
identity they are representing. Third, it is a pleasure, and a Unique Selling
Proposition (USP) amoung all these Americanised name schemes. And fourth, these
explorers had been prime explorers, none of them less than
Cook.
Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville and Le Kerguelen, rendering courtesy by STERLING DESIGN and PONANT
With the
naming, so PONANT, they would underscore the
loyalty of the shipping company to the French flag. All PONANT cruise ships flying the
French flag with registration in Mata Utu in the French overseas territory of
Wallis and Futuna in the South Seas. This registration is guaranteeing further the
highest environmental, safeguards and labor standards.
The stern of the new expedition cruisers Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville and Le Kerguelen, with the new type of marina - rendering courtesy by STERLING DESIGN and PONANT
The four
new expedition ships of explorer class with 92 cabins - 88 balcony
cabins and four suites, 180 passengers (184 max). and 110 crew and a length of 131 x 18 meters
kept relatively small (~ 10,000 GT) to sail in not yet been approached, even
more difficult attainable destinations so PONANT. The ships have the "Cleanship" seal of Bureau
Veritas and will be among the most environmentally friendly cruise ships on the
market.
- Dynamic
Positioning System
- Hybrid motors
- MDO (Marine
Diesel Oil)
- state of
the art waste management system
- energy
saving light system
- FarSounder
Sonar, which is able to create in 3D the maritime bottom
Rendering courtesy by STERLING DESIGN and PONANT
The four
sister ships will be constructed at the VARD YARD GROUP in Norway, which is partly
owned by the FINCANTIERI Group and Norwegian interests.
The four
ships of the Explorer class include among others an infinity pool and a
variable Marina. This yacht style marina is functioning as sun deck, mini port
and water sports and swimming plattform. The idea is created by PONANT. The design
is done by STIRLING DESIGN, Nantes.
With the
four new buildings PONANT doubles the fleet. Currently PONANT is offering the
luxury yachtstyl expedition ships LE BOREAL, L'AUSTRAL, LE SOLÈAL and LE LYRIAL that were put into
service between 2010 and 2015. The oldest ship is sailing vessel LE PONANT, 1991, for 64
passengers.
The
expedition cruisers accomodate 264 passengers in 132 cabins and suites, have
140 crew and a length of 140 meters. They are measuring 10,700 GT (LE BOREAL)
and 10,944 GT.
PONANT was founded in April 1988 as COMPAGNIE DES ÎLES DU PONANT by Philippe Videau, Jean-Emmanuel Sauvé, and other
officers of the French Merchant Navy and launched the first French cruise
ship. The company operates presently four ships, all of which operate under the
French flag. Initially based for 18 years in Nantes. The company
headquarters was moved in 2006 to Marseille following its acquisition in 2004 by CMA CGM. The
name was changed to LA COMPAGNIE DU PONANT in 2009. In
2012, CMA CGM sold PONANT to BRIDGEPOINT CAPITAL. 2015 ARTÉMIS, the privat holding
of the Pinault family finances, purchased the company from Bridgepoint. The
directors are Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée and Véronique Saadé, which is the daughter
of the president of CMA CGM.
The interior of the whole fleet, except
LE PONANT, is offering a "laid back" new French Mediterranean
design, which can be described as "Cote d´Azurian". The design takes
form speeches of custom build private yachts as well as it developed the Lounge
Style into a new form with a French touch.
The same is for the cuisine on board -
French, with an international touch. Ducasse Conseil is responsible for the Food&Beverage onboard the PONANAT fleet. And on demand, especially for the
charterer TAUK and its clientele, it is American ...
The new vessels will the guests amneties
which may be only found on super yachts or those for charter.
PONANT website
see the PONANT polar expedition video here
see the L´AUSTRAL Groenlande expedition video here
Take your time for the four new expedition yacht cruisers, which will be shown here in the youtube link.
Discovery Deluxe
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