Luxury icebreaker to circumnavigate Antarctica in 2028

There were two “firsts” for Ponant Explorations in Hobart, Tasmania, on Monday.

The first first was the inaugural arrival in Australia of its ship Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s only luxury icebreaker.

The second first was the announcement that the ship would sail a full circumnavigation of Antarctica in 2028.

TWO SHIPS IN ONE

Of all the rooms on Ponant’s luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, it is the dark little space behind the main restaurant Sila that tells its story.

For in here, between the fine dining and the stern promenade deck, highly experienced officers can sail the ship backwards.

This is a second, smaller aft bridge, which is used to navigate in reverse through thick, packed ice.

For under Le Commandant Charcot, its propellers are on two electric motors which swing through 360 degrees. Rather than these Azipods trying to push the hull through thick ice, with all the broken ice then coming down the hull to the propellers, the ship can be sailed backwards, with the Azipods hanging under the ice sheet, their wash flushing and lubricating the hull.

And all that can happen within metres of fine cuisine being served in a beautiful restaurant.

“The ship is amazing,” says Captain Stanislas Devorsine.

It certainly would have seemed amazing to the little boy who grew up obsessed with boats, sailing, and heroic oceanic explorers on the coast of Brittany, France.

“I started as a classic seafarer with my parents,” he says. “The family was passionate about boats and racing.”

Little Stanislas had caught the bug, sailing dinghies, racing and eventually voyaging around the world.

“I was attracted by the Roaring Forties.” By the strong winds that shriek around the globe, almost unencumbered, below 40 degrees of latitude. “By racing around the world.”

He adds: “I was interested in difficult navigations and the most difficult is polar navigation.

“Real explorers gave me dreams to be in these places.”

And, indeed, he is a real explorer. And he is in these places.

And, at this moment, he is in a familiar place, as he was stationed in Hobart for a decade as captain of L’Astrolabe — a supply and patrol ship chartered by France’s Polar Institute.

The icebreaker had to “fight its way” to the Dumont D’Urville scientific base in Adelie Land, and when conducting oceanographic operations.

“I can’t believe how comfortable Le Commandant Charcot is!” he exclaims, in quite a different voice. “So comfortable. So quiet! I can’t believe it.”

Icebreakers are usually so uncomfortable and so noisy that you can only sleep after several days, when you are totally exhausted, he says.

I should explain why I, and other executives from Ponant, and their public relations team and media colleagues and travel agents and other guests are here and all dolled up, sitting in the ship’s theatre (in which a different show is usually presented each night by the professional on-board performers).

We are here because this is Le Commandant Charcot’s first visit to Australia.

And it is here largely because of this captain.

When the ship was completed in 2021, they took it on a shakedown voyage to the North Pole, without guests, just to test it.

Yes, but the North Pole, Captain Devorsine shrugs. That was obvious.

This captain, who joined Ponant in 2018 specifically to bring his icebreaking experience to the company, pushed for an itinerary to fully circumnavigate Antarctica, which the ship will sail in 2028, and that has brought the ship to Hobart as part of this season’s half circumnavigation.

The 245-passenger ship, with its one-to-one passenger-crew ratio, has come from Ushuaia, at the southern tip of South America. It has visited rarely-seen parts of East Antarctica, including Adelie Land, Wilkes Land, the Shackleton Ice Shelf and Queen Mary Land.

Le Commandant Charcot is the world’s first and currently only luxury polar cruise ship with a Polar Class 2 (PC2) ice rating, allowing it to sail throughout the year and reach extreme locations like the geographic North Pole.

A PC2-class hull can navigate multi-year ice up to 2.5m-thick.

It is also the first (and currently only) hybrid electric high polar exploration vessel powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas).

It is an amazing machine. “I can’t get used to this ship’s ability to so easily and gently pass the impassable,” the captain says. “You are surrounded by ice. What a feeling to have no ocean around you, just ice. In comfort.”

The voyage to get here was 30 days, as will the next.

Also on board for that voyage was Jonathan Shackleton, a historian and descendent of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, sharing his passion for polar exploration stories and histories. “It was the voyage of a lifetime,” he says, as they visited three historic huts in Antarctica.

Deb Corbett, chief executive officer of Ponant Asia Pacific, recounts how the idea for the ship was first dreamt up in Marseille in 2015. “For some it seemed impossible. But for us it was a challenge worth pursuing.

“We see what vision can achieve.”

And also on board is a student from the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, along with its principal, Mal Wise. In an impressive leadership move, Ponant (yes, this French company) will take up to 50 Australian students on board this year. The one on this voyage will stay with the ship until it reaches Iceland, gaining valuable sea time and experience.

Captain Devorsine beams. “The first time I saw this ship was as drawings on a piece of paper. Look now. It is unique. I am very proud — very happy.

“I am a very happy captain.”

BEING ON BOARD

It is the early hours of the morning, and I’m walking complete laps of deck five of the ship, trying to work it out.

When I arrived, I was whisked to cabin 733, which is decorated in pastel colours, with blue highlights and a touch of timber. The door slides back to a small balcony. The bathroom and shower are surprisingly spacious. There’s full hanging space for two people, and a row of double drawers. Standard cabins are 20sqm, with a 5sqm balcony.

It’s all rather lovely — certainly luxurious.

I was then whisked around the ship and shown bigger cabins and suites — including the one owner’s suite, which has 115sqm of indoor space and 186sqm outside, with its own private jacuzzi.

For the rest of us, at the stern of the boat on deck nine, there’s the heated Blue Lagoon pool, kept warm by recovered engine energy. There’s a fire pit and heated seats.

Also on deck nine, just inside, Sila restaurant is certainly upscale, with beautiful design touches, but with a relaxed atmosphere. Buffet and panoramic views — a good mix.

It’s a casual alternative to the main restaurant, Nuna, on deck five, where guests can expect high-quality French and international cuisine by Alain Ducasse.

I really like the Observatory Lounge, which is also on deck nine but for’ard, at the front of the ship. There’s a bar, nooks to sit and read, and big views.

And that’s why I’m walking around the deck in the early hours, trying to work the ship out.

On one hand it is an icebreaker, at the forefront of maritime design, with its aft bridge and very advanced energy use and recovery.

On the other hand, it is a beautiful, quiet, luxurious cruise ship.

And I don’t even know why I find that slightly confusing.

We can all be a little bit of this; a little bit of that.

It’s just astonishing to see the pinnacle of these two aspects of expedition ships come together in one coherent vessel. At this ultimate level.

And once I realise I just have a mild cast of astonishment, I feel better, and go to bed.

CHARCOT THE MAN

Jean-Baptiste Charcot was a polar explorer and scientist, a medical doctor and son of the famous neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot.

From his teenage years, he felt drawn to an adventurous life — a life out of the shadow of his father, who is not only widely regarded as the father of modern neurology, linking clinical symptoms with post-mortem anatomical findings to define diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, but was a keen sailor.

Jean-Baptiste embraced both. He, in turn, became a medical doctor (and French rugby champion), but he also developed a burning passion for the sea. As Captain Devorsine would do so many years later, Jean-Baptiste devoured childhood books full of exploration and adventure.

He sailed with his father in the frozen north, and after his father’s death, dedicated himself to maritime exploration. He was the driving force behind the first French Antarctic expedition from 1903 to 1905 in the ship Francais.

It explored the Antarctic Peninsula, mapped more than 1600km of coastline and over-wintered at Booth Island in 1904.

The second French Antarctic expedition, from 1908 to 1910, was simply called “Pourqoui Pas?”. “Why not?” And it is not long since I was standing on the ice of Pourqoui Pas island, at 69 degrees south. That’s deep south.

The expedition name came from an event in Charcot’s childhood. He was said to have written the words on the side of a soap box. He then climbed in to sail across a little pool at Neuilly-sur-Seine in France, where he was born and brought up.

I should mention that the box sank, he got wet, but was clearly undeterred.

The second expedition, aboard the ship Pourquoi Pas?, successfully survey over 2000km of new coastline, producing important, detailed maps.

Jean-Baptiste Charcot is often referred to as “the gentleman of the poles”.

He is most definitely known in France as Commandant Charcot.

+ Stephen Scourfield was on board as a guest of Ponant. They have not influenced this story, or read it prior to publication.

THE NEXT STEP

In Hobart, Ponant also announces that Le Commandant Charcot will sail a full Antarctic Circumnavigation itinerary in 2028.

A Ponant spokesperson explains: “Departing Ushuaia in January 2028, the journey will unfold in two distinct phases, with a pivotal stopover in Hobart before the ship continues eastward back to South America.

“Guests will traverse some of the most inaccessible coastlines on Earth, including the Ross Sea, the world’s largest marine sanctuary, as well as Charcot Island, Marie Byrd Land, Wilkes Land, Adelie Land and the remote Balleny Islands.

“Highlights of the voyage include encounters with penguins, whales and seals, Zodiac and kayak excursions, snowshoe hikes, and opportunities to retrace the routes of legendary explorers such as Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen and French polar explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot himself.”

Travellers seeking a shorter adventure, can book half of the voyage — from Ushuaia to Hobart, or Hobart to Ushuaia.

Captain Devorsine says: “For more than 20 years, I dreamed of circumnavigating Antarctica. From my earliest days with Ponant Explorations, I’ve been deeply connected to that vision.

“Today, seeing Le Commandant Charcot poised to complete a full circumnavigation of the White Continent isn’t just a milestone for us, it’s a turning point in the story of modern polar exploration.”

fact file

There are lots of itineraries on Le Commandant Charcot.

+ One of the ultimate voyages is to the Geographic North Pole and the east coast of Greenland. The 17-day voyage leaves Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 10, 2027, and sails to Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen, Norway. (No prices have been posted on this yet.)

+ Four more, 12-night voyages to the North Pole follow that, as return trips from Longyearbyen. They are from $54,210 per person.

+ The 16-night Polar Odyssey between northeast Greenland and Spitsbergen, Norway, on Le Commandant Charcot is from $43,640 per person, leaving on September 9, 2026.

+ The 29-night voyage from Ushuaia (at the southern tip of Argentina) to Hobart which leaves on January 1, 2028, is from $98,770 per person.

+ Travel agents and au.ponant.com.