Ponant’s newest flagship “Le Commandant Charcot” 

​Well let’s start with the obvious – ice. The entire purpose of the rating system is for safety since the ship will be sailing waters with lots of ice. We all remember the Titanic, well at least the movie, so when you mix ships and ice, you need to pay careful attention to ship design, capabilities and safety. Sea ice is always changing and is in perpetual movement. It grows and shrinks. It fractures, folds, and breaks.
Now layer on top of that, cruisers want to get as close as possible to the ice flows and land, so they can see polar bears, penguins, and explore ice formations. Hence the tension between customers desires and expectations for closeness and the need for safety.

Lower rated polar class ships will be the most constrained on where they can cruise and are limited to primary channels or paths. Conversely, the highest rated polar class ships will be able to navigate away from the main channels into smaller passages, and thus closer to wildlife, fjords, remote villages, and dramatic formations. Ponant “Charot’s” flexible itineraries will allow it to change course to admire a whale or disembark to meet a colony of penguins. It will offer impromptu shore visits, so guest can get as close as possible to enigmatic lands.
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For all cruise lines, safety is paramount. So regardless of polar class ratings, itineraries may be modified based on local ice conditions.

The Charot will be an electric hybrid vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Since the ship is designed to give sophisticated cruisers an up-close polar experience, Ponant wants to minimize the impact the ship has on the fragile polar environment. LNG use substantially reduces sodium oxides, nitrogen oxides (85% reduction), carbon dioxide, and particle emissions (95% reduction), and when in electric hybrid mode emissions are reduced to zero. In addition, Charcot will have a waster heat recovery system to minimize its impact on the cold environment and waters. This is part of Ponant’s commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism, allowing it to take its travelers to remote areas for truly unique experiences while minimizing the ships impact on this remarkable environment.