Compagnie du Ponant

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Compagnie du Ponant
legal form SA
founding 1988
Seat Marseille , France
management Management:
Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée
Véronique Saadé
Number of employees 1000, of which 800 on ships
Branch Cruises
Website http://www.ponant.com

Compagnie du Ponant ( CDP ) or Ponant for short is a French cruise line . It was founded in April 1988 by Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée, Philippe Videau and other young officers from the French merchant navy. The company operates nine ships (2019) belonging to the yacht cruise ship market segment. It is named after the "Iles du Ponant", a group of islands on the French Atlantic coast. In the early years, the company name was therefore "Compagnie des Iles du Ponant SA"

History and business development

The company was initially based in Nantes . In 2006 the company was taken over by the shipping company CMA CGM and the headquarters were relocated to Marseille . Today's owner has been the Artémis Group , which is active in the luxury and consumer goods sector and owned by François Pinault's family , since 2015 .

The company commissioned the construction of their first ship in 1989, a three-masted barque named Le Ponant . The ship was delivered in 1991. It has 32 cabins and is still part of the fleet today. In 1998 the company acquired the yacht Le Lavant , which is equipped with 45 cabins. The ship was sold in 2012 and then sailed as Tere Moana for Paul Gauguin Cruises. In 2004, Ponant acquired the cruise ship Le Diamant , which has 113 cabins. This ship was sold to Quark Expeditions in 2012 and now sails as Ocean Diamond .

In 2010, Ponant commissioned the first of a series of four new, largely identical cruise lines. It was built according to its own specifications by the Italian shipyard Fincantieri . The aim was to combine cutting-edge technology, manageable size, French elegance and first-class service. With 132 cabins, they are among the small cruise ships that can also head for remote destinations. The first ship was named Le Boreal . A year later the fleet was expanded to include the L'Austral . The third ship followed in 2013, the Le Soléal . The fourth ship, the Le Lyrial , was delivered in 2015.

From 2018 to 2020 six ships of the Ponant Explorer class , which are mainly suitable for expedition trips, will be put into service. They are built by VARD . With 9,920 GT and they are smaller and with 92 cabins have fewer cabins than the previously built Boreal class ships . The names of the ships refer to French explorers and sailors: Le Lapérouse , Le Champlain , Le Bougainville and Le Dumont-d'Urville , as well as Le Surville and Le Bellot .

Another new building was ordered from VARD in December 2017. The ship with ice class PC 2 should be measured with 30,000 GT, get an LNG drive and be delivered in 2021. It is said to be named Le Commander Charcot .

The ships operate in all tourist areas of the world. The focus is on the waters of the Antarctic and the Arctic , the Mediterranean, the Caribbean , the North and Baltic Seas, Oceania, the South Seas and Asia.

In 2019 Paul Gauguin Cruises was taken over with the ship Paul Gauguin . In the same year, Ponant ordered two newbuildings for Paul Gauguin Cruises from VARD with delivery in 2022, which are based on the Ponant Explorer class .

Events

On April 4, 2008, the three-master Le Ponant was attacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden . The ship was on its way from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean . There were 30 crew members on board, but no passengers. The entire crew was taken hostage. The French frigates Commandant Bouan and Jean Bart as well as the helicopter carrier Jeanne d'Arc happened to be in the region and headed for the Somali coast. The hostages were released on April 12th for a ransom and without the use of force. The soldiers chased the fleeing pirates with helicopters. Six people could be captured. According to unconfirmed reports, three people have been killed. Part of the ransom was secured and could be returned to the ship owner. The captured pirates went to court in France.

In 2013 the Le Soleal was the first French cruise ship to cross the Northwest Passage . The ship left Kangerlussuaq in Greenland on August 26 and arrived in Anadyr in Siberia on September 16 .

On November 18, 2015, a fire broke out in the engine room of Le Boréal , which was located near the Falkland Islands . The ship then drifted without propulsion in the South Atlantic. In a rescue operation by the Royal Navy , all 347 passengers and crew were saved.

fleet

Current ships

ship Construction year in the service
of Ponant		 GT flag Remarks image
Le Ponant 1991 since 1991 1,189 FranceFrance France Motor glider with 32 cabins for 64 passengers; 32 crew members Ponant01.jpg
Le Boréal 2010 since 2010 10,944 FranceFrance France Diesel-electric drive with 4,600 kW; 132 cabins for 264 passengers; 139 crew members. In 2010, Le Boréal won the “Best Newcomer of the Year” award - GOLD from the European Cruiser Association (EUCRAS). Le Boreal Port Side Tallinn 18 June 2013.JPG
L'Austral 2011 since 2011 10,944 FranceFrance France Sister ship of Le Boréal with largely the same equipment. L'Austral Pula (01) .JPG
Le Soléal 2012 since 2012 10,992 FranceFrance France Sister ship of Le Boréal with largely the same equipment. MS Le Soléal R03.jpg
Le Lyrial 2015 since 2015 10,992 FranceFrance France Sister ship of Le Boréal with only 122 cabins and otherwise largely the same equipment. Le Lyrial - Venice - 2016.jpg
Le Lapérouse 2018 since 2018 9,920 FranceFrance France Le Lapérouse in the Kiel Canal - Königsförde II.jpg
Le Champlain 2018 since 2018 9,920 FranceFrance France
Le Bougainville 2019 since 2019 9,920 FranceFrance France
Le Dumont-d'Urville 2019 since 2019 9,920 FranceFrance France Le Dumont-d'Urville - IMO 9814052.jpg
Le Bellot 2020 since 2020 9,920 FranceFrance France
Le Jacques Cartier 2020 since 2020 9,920 FranceFrance France
Paul Gauguin Cruises
Paul Gauguin 1997 since 2019 19,170 FranceFrance France TAHITI CRUISE WITH PAUL GAUGUIN CRUISES (14274279135) .jpg

Previous ships

ship Construction year in the service
of Ponant		 GT flag Remarks image
Le Levant 1998 1998-2012 3,500 FranceFrance France The yacht has 45 cabins for 90 passengers; 55 crew members. Sold to Paul Gauguin Cruises in 2012 and renamed Tere Moana . Sold to Grand Circle Cruise Line in 2015, renamed Clio Le levant 2.jpg
Le diamond 1974, rebuilt in 1986 2004-2011 8,282 FranceFrance France Originally built in 1974 as a RoRo ship named Begonia . 1986 converted to the cruise ship Explorer Starship . Acquired by Ponant in 2004; 113 cabins for 226 passengers; 120 crew members. Sold to Quark Expeditions in 2013 and renamed Ocean Diamond . Diamant2010 NekoHarbour.JPG

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Website 'Ponant - The Beginnings' . Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  2. ^ Paul Gauguin buys Le Levant, to branch out from South Pacific ( en ) Cruise-community.com. June 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 29, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cruise-community.com
  3. ↑ Kevin Griffin: Ocean Diamond Joins Quark Expeditions. Cybercruises, December 12, 2011, accessed October 29, 2017 .
  4. ↑ L'Austral. Cruise Line, accessed October 30, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Ponant's Le Soléal Enters Service with Godmother Kiki Tauck Mahar as Guest of Honor. Travel Pulse, July 1, 2013, accessed on October 27, 2017 (English).
  6. ↑ Ponant Explorers. Compagnie du Ponant, accessed on May 27, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Vard secures contract for the design and construction of the first electric hybrid cruise icebreaker with LNG propulsion for Ponant. Press release. VARD, December 18, 2017, accessed June 25, 2018 .
  8. ^ Ponant dévoile Le Commandant Charcot. Mer et Marine, September 7, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 (French).
  9. ↑ M / S Paul Gauguin , Fakta om Fartyg.
  10. ^ Monty Mathisen: Ponant Purchases Paul Gauguin , Cruise Industry News, August 8, 2019.
  11. ^ VARD: Signed the contract for the 2 new cruis ships for Ponant. Press release. Fincantieri, December 19, 2019, accessed December 27, 2019 .
  12. ^ Somali pirates seize French yacht (en) , BBC News . April 4, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2017. 
  13. ↑ Two million dollar ransom for the luxury yacht , Spiegel Online. April 11, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2017. 
  14. ↑ France charges Somali 'pirates' (en) , BBC News. April 18, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2017. 
  15. ^ Ponant ship makes history ( en ) SixStarCruises. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  16. ↑ Soldiers rescue cruise tourists , n-tv, November 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ Le Boréal: Small ship cruising, French-style ( en ) All Things Cruise. Retrieved October 30, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Compagnie du Ponant  - Collection of images, videos and audio files