By Anne Kalosh.
Charting a new frontier in expedition cruising, the French company Ponant is building a luxury icebreaker with an electric hybrid system powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). This means the ship will be able to travel to the far ends of the earth, including the true North Pole (90 degrees north latitude), while generating very low emissions.
The 30,000-gross-ton vessel will be able to carry 270 passengers in balcony cabins and suites. It will have three restaurants, spa and wellness facilities, 16 Zodiacs and two helicopters. There will be room for more than 180 crew.
The Ponant icebreaker will be able to travel to remote regions like the North Pole. * Rendering: Ponant
“You couldn’t get to the North Pole before unless you wanted to go on an old Russian icebreaker,” said Edie Rodriquez, Ponant Americas brand chairman and corporate special adviser.
It is the first electric hybrid cruise vessel with icebreaker characteristics and dual fuel propulsion, featuring high-capacity batteries and LNG storage on board.
Thanks to the use of LNG, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon dioxide emissions will be dramatically reduced. When the ship is operating for stints on battery power, it will produce zero emissions and travel in silence.
Now that’s the right way to visit pristine places!
Besides the North Pole, northern Greenland and Antarctica’s Ross and Weddell seas will all be accessible on Ponant’s new ship. The hull is designed by Aker Arctic, an icebreaker specialist, to Polar Class 2 standard. This enables year-round operations in moderate, multi-year ice conditions.
Ponant also has four ice-class explorer vessels coming in 2018 and 2019, with features like an underwater lounge.
The luxury icebreaker’s hull will be built at Vard Tulcea in Romania, with the ship’s delivery from Vard Søviknes in Norway scheduled in second quarter 2021.
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I wonder if thinner ice and more months of ice free passage in these areas will lead to even more travel, both tourism and Research, into areas that used to be ice bound?
Yes, it would certainly seem that thinner ice will only increase traffic to the polar regions, especially in the north …. which would only exacerbate the melting. Organizations like the https://www.aeco.no/ are trying to address these very important issues.