Ponant—the French company founded in 1988 and part of the Kering Group—continues to innovate and offer sustainable luxury tourism. Following the launch last year of Le Commandant Charcot, the world's only hybrid electric luxury icebreaker powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Ponant's R&D team is finalizing the details of its latest eco-friendly cruise ship, designed to have zero environmental impact while sailing.
This 14th ship project is in line with PONANT's six environmental commitments, one of which is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. The goal is to deliver a ship that can combine various non-fossil fuel energy sources, including wind propulsion, by integrating technological building blocks and have the ship operational by 2025.
According to Hervé Gastinel, CEO of Ponant, “this new high-tech vesselwillbea sailboat. As dual propulsion is always needed, this will alsobeinnovative , probably using fuel cells.”
The French cruise line recently unveiled its newest itineraries, including one of its most popular voyages: the Seychelles Islands route. The Le Bougainville will depart from Doha for Muscat on December 29th for an 8-day cruise exploring every corner of the Persian Gulf.
During the summer of 2023, Le Champlain will sail to the Baltic capitals, while simultaneously, L'Austral will cruise the waters of Greenland and the Arctic. Ponant will launch four new Antarctic itineraries in 2023 aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world's only luxury icebreaker, a hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel powered by LNG.
As for the Arctic, Ponant's Le Bellot will sail for 16 days to Iceland, Greenland, and Canada, stopping at the French archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland, among other coastal locations. Meanwhile, the voyage "On the Arctic Ice: From Greenland to Svalbard" is a 19-day exploration aboard Le Commandant Charcot between Greenland and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
In Asia, Ponant will be the first expedition cruise line to offer a trip to the tropical islands of southern Japan, with a new eight-day itinerary aboard Le Soléal from Taiwan to Okinawa. Also in Japan, there is an eight-day cruise between Osaka and Fukuoka, exploring the picturesque towns and cities of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan's oldest shipping route.
The Mediterranean remains one of the most established and popular itineraries, and Ponant is adding two new routes for 2023, including two 11-day family cruises between the French Riviera and Malta. Also new next year is an eight-day trip, “From the City of the Gods to the Canals of Venice,” sailing to Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, and Italy.
