Vard delivers first LNG-powered hybrid polar expedition ship
The Le Commandant Charcot has been built in Norway
(Source: Ponant – Nicolas Dubreuil)
Fincantieri-owned shipbuilder, Norway-based Vard, has delivered Le Commandant Charcot to Marseille-based cruise line, Ponant. The 30,000-gt Polar Class 2 vessel is claimed to be the first hybrid-electric polar exploation ship with icebreaking technology, powered by liquid natural gas.
The 150m-long ship has capacity for 245 passengers in 123 cabins, and a crew of 215 persons. It has an open-water cruising speed of 15 knots.
The vessel incorporates a range of ‘green’ technologies, including a waste management plant. It is equipped with facilities to undertake research and analysis on water, air, ice, and polar diversity.
Le Commandant Charcot was designed and developed by Ponant, Stirling Design International, Aker Arctic, and the shipbuilder Vard. Construction took place at Vard Tulcea in Romania and Vard Søviknes in Norway.
Ponant will operate the vessel in some of the world’s most remote regions, including the Geographic North Pole, Northeast Greenland’s National Park, the Svalbard archipelago, the Charcot and Pierre I Islands, the Weddell Sea and the Larsen Ice Shelf.
