Le Ponant

Le Ponant is a three-masted, commercially operated French luxury yacht operated by Compagnie du Ponant. The ship has capacity for up to 32 passengers in 16 cabins. It was built 1991 by the Societe Francaise de Construction Navales (SFCN) shipyard in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, France.[1][3] In 2008, the ship was attacked by Somali pirates and was only released after a military intervention. In 2022, the yacht was refitted for increased environmental protection to a design by Jean-Philippe Nuel Studio.

Description

On board, Le Ponant has one restaurant. Le Diamant panoramic restaurant offers buffet breakfast and dinner as well as fine gastronomic cuisine.

Le Ponant was entirely refitted and refurbished in 2022.[4] Having been totally renovated with a design by the Jean-Philippe Nuel Studio, the end result was 16 staterooms for a maximum of 32 guests.[5]

History

2008 Somali pirate attack

On 4 April 2008, Le Ponant was seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden while en route from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean.[8] The ship carried no passengers at the time of its capture, but all 30 crewmembers were taken hostage; 22 French, 6 Filipino, 1 Cameroonian and 1 Ukrainian.[9] French forces, including the aviso Commandant Bouan, and a Canadian CH-124 helicopter from HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) were monitoring the yacht after its seizure.[10] The hostages were released without incident on 12 April.

Following the release, French helicopters from the Djibouti military base tracked the pirates to the village of Jariban. French commando marine and GIGN operating from the frigate FRENCH FRIGATE Jean Bart and the cruiser FRENCH CRUISER Jeanne d'Arc moved in when the pirates attempted to flee in the desert. A sniper disabled the get-away vehicle, and the commandos were able to capture six men. Local officials claimed that three people died in the raid, with a further eight wounded, but France denied this. Troops also recovered some of the ransom money paid by the owner of the yacht for the release of its crew.[11] The six captured pirates were flown to Paris, where they faced trial in 2012.[12][13] Four of the six men were convicted and sentenced to four to ten years in prison.[14]

SolidSail prototype testing

Between October 2018 and 2019, Le Ponant served as the testing platform for Chantiers de l'Atlantique's SolidSail rigid sail technology. On 25 October 2018, during a technical stop in Marseille, the vessel's forward mast was equipped with a half-scale SolidSail prototype measuring over 300 m² (3,200 sq ft).[15][16] The rigid sail, constructed from composite panels of fibreglass, carbon, and epoxy resin framed by carbon slats, was tested during transatlantic crossings to Cape Verde and Cuba under various operational conditions.[17] According to Ponant CEO Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée, the company was immediately interested in collaborating with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, viewing sail propulsion as "without a doubt an energy of the future" and the trials as essential to validating the technology's potential for significant environmental and economic benefits.[18] The prototype was removed during the vessel's major refurbishment between November 2019 and April 2020 at San Giorgio del Porto shipyard in

header caption	‡R1R‡
type	Luxury yacht
length	88 m
beam	12 m
draft	4 m
decks	3 (passenger accessible)
sail plan	Three masts
power	2,200 hp motor and sails
propulsion	1 propeller 1500 m2 sail area
capacity	67 passengers
crew	30

Description

History

2008 Somali pirate attack

SolidSail prototype testing

External links

References