Ponant to christen new ship Le Commandant Charcot

First electric hybrid icebreaker to be named in honour of French expedition leader Jean-Baptiste Charcot

Ponant to christen new ship Le Commandant Charcot
Le Commandant Charcot will sail expedition voyages (Image: Ponant, Stirling Design International)

By Rebecca Gibson |


Ponant is to name its first electric hybrid polar expedition vessel Le Commandant Charcot in honour of French medical doctor and polar scientist Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot.

Known as the ‘gentleman of the poles’, Charcot led French expeditions to Antarctica and the Artic in the early 1900s. According to Ponant, Charcot’s name was chosen for the ship to reflect the fact that she will be equipped with technology to minimise her environmental impact, as well as a a scientific laboratory for conducting operational oceanography research.

Jointly designed by Stirling Design International and icebreaker specialists Aker Arctic, the 135-room Le Commandant Charcot will be constructed by Vard at its shipyard in Norway. The vessel, which will be certified to meet Cleanship environmental standards, will have dual-fuel engines from Wärtsilä that will primarily run on LNG. She will also have electric batteries that will enable her to operate without engines for two to three hours, ABB’s Azipod units for propulsion, and systems for energy optimisation, energy recovery and advanced wastewater treatment.

Le Commandant Charcot will sail itineraries to the North Pole and previously inaccessible areas of Antarctica, such as the Ross Sea, Charcot Island and Peter Island.

“Passengers booking these itineraries will be in for veritable polar odysseys rather than cruises,” said Ponant in a press release.

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