Le Commandant Charcot

{{Infobox ship begin

|infobox caption=

|display title=ital

}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=File:Le Commandant Charcot during Operation Tugaalik in June 23, 2024 (1).jpg

|Ship image size=

|Ship caption=Le Commandant Charcot during Operation Tugaalik on 23 June 2024

}}

{{Infobox ship career

|Hide header=

|Ship country=Wallis and Futuna

|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Wallis and Futuna|civil}}

|Ship name=Le Commandant Charcot

|Ship namesake=Jean-Baptiste Charcot

|Ship owner=Compagnie du Ponant

|Ship operator=

|Ship registry= {{flagicon|Wallis and Futuna}} Mata Utu

|Ship route=

|Ship ordered=

|Ship builder=* Vard Tulcea, Romania (hull)

Vard Søviknes, Norway (outfitting)[http://www.vard.com/newsandmedia/news/Pages/VARD-secures-contract-for-the-design-and-construction-of-the-first-electric-hybrid-cruise-icebreaker-with-LNG-propulsion-.aspx VARD secures contract for the design and construction of the first electric hybrid cruise icebreaker with LNG propulsion for PONANT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719175936/http://www.vard.com/newsandmedia/news/Pages/VARD-secures-contract-for-the-design-and-construction-of-the-first-electric-hybrid-cruise-icebreaker-with-LNG-propulsion-.aspx |date=19 July 2018 }}. VARD, 18 December 2017. {{retrieved|accessdate=10 February 2019}}

|Ship original cost={{ShipCost|NOR|2.7|b|origin=ROU|ref=}}

|Ship yard number=

|Ship laid down=December 2018[https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20125-keel-laid-for-le-commandant-charcot.html Keel Laid for Le Commandant Charcot]. Cruise Industry News, 27 December 2018. {{retrieved|accessdate=10 February 2019}}

|Ship launched=March 2020{{Cite web|url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/ponant-apres-sa-mise-leau-le-commandant-charcot-quitte-la-roumanie|title=Ponant : Après sa mise à l'EAU, le Commandant Charcot quitte la Roumanie|date=30 March 2020}}

|Ship sponsor=

|Ship christened=

|Ship completed=July 2021{{cite web|url=https://www.vard.com/articles/le-commandant-charcot-delivered|title=Le Commandant Charcot delivered|accessdate=3 August 2021|date=3 August 2021|publisher=Vard Group AS}}

|Ship maiden voyage=

|Ship in service=

|Ship out of service=

|Ship identification=* {{IMO number|9846249}}

|Ship fate=

|Ship status=In service

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=[https://en.ponant.com/ponant-icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot]. Le Commandant Charcot. {{retrieved|accessdate=10 February 2019}}

|Ship type=Cruise ship

|Ship tonnage={{GT|31,283}}

|Ship displacement=

|Ship length={{convert|150|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam={{convert|28.3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

|Ship height=

|Ship draught={{convert|10|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

|Ship depth=

|Ship decks=

|Ship ice class=* Polar Class 2

BV Icebreaker 3 (bow)
BV Icebreaker 4 (stern)

|Ship power=* 4{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}Wärtsilä 14V31DF (4{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}7,700{{nbsp}}kW)

2{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}Wärtsilä 10V31DF (2{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}5,500{{nbsp}}kW)[http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/waertsilae-to-power-ponant-s-world-first-hybrid-electric-icebreaker.html Wärtsilä to power Ponant's world-first hybrid electric icebreaker]. Seatrade Cruise News, 21 October 2018. {{retrieved|accessdate=10 February 2019}}[https://www.wartsila.com/products/marine-oil-gas/engines-generating-sets/dual-fuel-engines/wartsila-31df Wärtsilä 31DF]. Wärtsilä. {{retrieved|accessdate=10 February 2019}}
5 MWh batteries{{cite web |title=ABB highlights technology that brought Le Commandant Charcot to the North Pole |url=https://cruises-info.com/abb-highlights-technology-that-brought-le-commandant-charcot-to-the-north-pole/ |date=13 September 2021}}

|Ship propulsion=Diesel-electric; two ABB Azipod propulsion units (2{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}17{{nbsp}}MW)[https://www.electrive.com/2018/03/10/abb-to-produce-propulsion-for-worlds-first-hybrid-ice-breaker/ World's first hybrid icebreaker for cruising powered by ABB]. electrive.com, 10 March 2018. {{retrieved|accessdate=10 February 2019}}

|Ship speed={{convert|15|kn}} (open water)

|Ship range=

|Ship endurance=

|Ship capacity=270 passengers in 135 cabins

|Ship crew=187

|Ship aircraft=

|Ship aircraft facilities=

|Ship notes=

}}

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.

Description

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 5 MWh electric batteries, capable of briefly driving the ship without engines running.

File:Le Commandant Charcot Stockholm.jpg

Design and construction

The ship was launched in March 2020 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/ponant-la-coque-du-commandant-charcot-est-arrivee-en-norvege |title=Ponant : la coque du Commandant Charcot est arrivée en Norvège|date=2020-04-29|accessdate=2020-04-29 |language= french}} In June 2021, she was in the Arctic for the first time during sea trials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/le-commandant-charcot-en-essais-glace-au-large-du-groenland |title = Ponant : Le Commandant Charcot achève ses essais glace en Arctique|date = 25 June 2021}}

Notable events

File:Le Commandant Charcot during Operation Tugaalik in June 23, 2024 (3).jpg

After delivery on 29 July 2021,{{cite web|url=https://www.vard.com/articles/le-commandant-charcot-delivered |title=Le Commandant Charcot delivered|date=2021-08-03 |accessdate=2021-09-17}} Le Commandant Charcot sailed from mainland Norway to Svalbard and from there to the Geographic North Pole, where she arrived on 6 September 2021.{{cite tweet|author=PONANT|user=Cie_ponant |number=1434831273030213638 |title=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}}

In December 2021, the ship went on 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.{{cite web |first=Joe |last=Rao |title=Here's what the only total solar eclipse of 2021 was like from a cruise ship near Antarctica |url=https://www.space.com/total-solar-eclipse-2021-cruise-ship-report |website=Space.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211206133651/https://www.space.com/total-solar-eclipse-2021-cruise-ship-report |archive-date=6 December 2021 |language=en |date=5 December 2021 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Le-Commandant-Charcot-2019 |title=Le Commandant Charcot Review|website=CruiseMapper|access-date=July 28, 2021}}

In February 2022, Le Commandant Charcot collaborated with the British Antarctic Survey research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough in Antarctica. The cruise ship, capable of breaking much thicker ice, created a channel for the research vessel in second-year ice covered with thick layer of snow in Stange Sound.{{cite web|url=https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/rrs-sir-david-attenborough-collaborates-with-le-commandant-charcot-in-support-of-science/|title=RRS Sir David Attenborough collaborates with cruise ship|publisher=British Antarctic Survey|date=11 February 2022|accessdate=12 February 2022}}

In late July 2022, Le Commandant Charcot accompanied the Norwegian polar research vessel Kronprins Haakon to the North Pole.{{cite web|url=http://www.latecruisenews.com/2022/07/29/le-commandant-charcot-teams-up-with-the-rv-kronprins-haakon-in-the-arctic/|title="Le Commandant Charcot" teams up with the RV Kronprins Haakon in the Arctic|publisher=Late Cruise News|date=29 July 2022|accessdate=31 July 2022}}

In June 2024, Le Commandant Charcot participated in a multinational rescue and assistance exercise Operation Tugaalik together with the Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Triton, French Navy offshore support and assistance vessel Rhône, and Icelandic Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel ICGV Þór.{{cite web|url=https://polarjournal.net/courtesy-exercises-on-the-edge-of-the-arctic-pack-ice/|title=Courtesy exercises on the edge of the Arctic pack ice|website=Polar Journal|date=4 July 2024|accessdate=17 August 2024}}

On 12 September 2024, Le Commandant Charcot became the first ship to reach the northern pole of inaccessibility, the point within the Arctic Ocean farthest from any landmass, during a transarctic voyage from Alaska to Svalbard.{{cite web|url=https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/expedition-cruising/ponant-s-le-commandant-charcot-notches-a-world-first|title=Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot notches a world-first|website=Seatrade Cruise News|date=23 September 2024|accessdate=23 September 2024}} On the same voyage, the ship also passed through the north magnetic pole on 13 September and Geographic North Pole on 15 September.{{cite web|url=https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/worlds-only-luxury-icebreaker-becomes-first-ship-to-reach-north-pole-of-inaccessibility/|title=World's Only Luxury Icebreaker Becomes First Ship To Reach North Pole Of Inaccessibility|date=24 September 2024|accessdate=24 September 2024|website=Marine Insight}}

References

External links

[https://en.ponant.com/ponant-icebreaker Official website]

Category:Ships of Compagnie du Ponant

Category:Icebreakers of France

Category:2020 ships