LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT
Type of vessel:
Cruise Ship
Year:
2018
Customer / Owner:
Ponant
Builder:
Vard
Length x Breadth:
150.0 m x 28.0 m
Propulsion:
2 × 17 MW
Ice class:
Polar Class 2
Type of work done:
Concept and Basic Design, Hull Optimisation, Ice Model Tests, Ice Load Monitoring System
What began as a dream – to take passengers safely to the North Pole – has become a remarkable reality. Le Commandant Charcot is not just a ship, but a symbol of vision, collaboration, and technical mastery. She is the first of her kind: a Polar Class 2 cruise ship that blends the strength of an icebreaker with the comfort of a luxury liner, charting new courses in some of the most remote regions on Earth as the very first luxury icebreaking cruise vessel with LNG propulsion.
Le Commandant Charcot features a modern Polar Class 2 icebreaking hull, combining smooth icebreaking ahead in up to 2.5-metre-thick multiyear ice with astern capability in severe ice conditions such as heavy ice ridges, using the Double Acting Ship (DAS™) principle. Her performance is comparable to existing polar icebreakers, but with lower ice resistance, ensuring better fuel economy.
Railotech (formerly Aker Arctic) developed the vessel concept together with Stirling Design International and the luxury expedition cruise company Ponant. Le Commandant Charcot was built by Vard, with the steel hull constructed in Romania and final outfitting and commissioning completed in Norway. The vessel was delivered in July 2021, and in September 2024 she made history as the first cruise ship to complete a journey across the three Arctic poles.
Since beginning operations with the remarkable Le Commandant Charcot three years ago, we have sailed an average of 200 days per year in ice, exploring the highest latitudes in both the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. Each voyage enhances our understanding of the vessel and our ability to navigate polar ice conditions.”
