Ponant welcomes world’s only luxury icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot, ‘home’ to Hobart

The arrival in Hobart of Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot has been a homecoming of sorts, including for its Captain Stanislav Devorsine. Hobart is a premier gateway for pioneering Antarctic expeditions, including French research vessel L’Astrolabe on which Captain Devorsine served, spending 10 summers in Hobart. He also served on L’Astrolabe II which is also currently in port, berthed adjacent to Le Commandant Charcot.

Le Commandant Charcot honours French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who led two major expeditions from Hobart to explore Eastern Antarctica in 1903 and 1910, with the French Antarctic program’s continuing its long-standing reliance on the port since 1948.

Devorsine said the luxury vessel – launched in 2021 and accommodating up to 245 guests in 123 staterooms and suites with private balconies or terraces, with its refined dining, lounges and wellness facilities – is certainly a lot more comfortable than his previous research ship.

Arriving in Hobart at 4:15pm AEST on Saturday 14 February, Le Commandant Charcot concluded a landmark half-circumnavigation of Antarctica, sailing from Ushuaia through vast and rarely visited regions of East Antarctica, including Adélie Land, Wilkes Land, the Shackleton Ice Shelf and Queen Mary Land. The arrival marks the first time the next-generation polar vessel has called into Australia, underscoring Hobart’s role as a critical gateway for modern Antarctic exploration.

“I did push a lot (for the Hobart stop) because of the time I spent here,” the Captain said. “I was passionate.”

He also said when he first joined Ponant he had a desire to plan a circumnavigation of the globe, with Le Commandant Charcot covering both poles – with a stop at Hobart of course. The only passenger vessel in the world with a PC2-class hull, Le Commandant Charcot is able her to navigate multi-year ice up to 2.5 metres thick and will now embark on that circumnavigation voyage in 2028.

Corbett said the story of Le Commandant Charcot began in 2015, at Ponant headquarters in Marseilles where “an ambitious idea was born… to build an icebreaker capable of pushing the frontiers of the known world. And to do so, in comfort and safety.”

“For some, it seemed impossible. For us, it was a challenge worth pursuing. Today, standing aboard this extraordinary vessel, we see what vision, expertise, and determination can achieve. I think we can all agree that Le Commondant Charcot is truly exceptional.”

Special guests included luxury travel advisors from across the country, plus key state sales managers, alongside Patrick Augier who serves as the General Secretary and Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the PONANT Explorations Group, as well as John Shackleton, cousin of the great explorer.

Shackleton, an historian, Antarctic guide and descendant of Sir Ernest Shackleton, remained on board to take part in the event on the luxury small-ship, despite just completing 30-day journey to the frozen continent and his visiting his ancestor’s famous hut.

While it explores other regions including Europe and Australia’s Kimberley, it also supports scientific research including of Antarctica and the Arctic with its onboard laboratories.

Also at the event was the team from the Launceston-based Australian Maritime College whose cadets had earlier in the day taken a three-hour bus ride to enjoy a tour of Le Commandant Charcot while it was in port. One lucky cadet even got to stay on board the ship for its next 30-day journey, this time to Greenland, via the east coast of Antarctica and Cape Town.

Features

Dining

Le Commandant Charcot showcases refined French-inspired gastronomy at sea with culinary offerings developed in partnership with chef Alain Ducasse and Ducasse Conseil. The flagship restaurant Nuna on deck 5 serves contemporary French and international à la carte cuisine throughout the day, featuring signature dishes and a fine wine selection in an elegant setting which was the setting for the special event dinner.

A more relaxed restaurant, Sila on deck 9 offers breakfasts, buffet lunches and themed dinners while the open-air bar Inneq serves a range of international sweet and savoury options during the day.

Wellness

Le Commandant Charcot’s wellness area on deck 9 offers a comprehensive space dedicated to relaxation and wellbeing. The Wellness Lounge (Nuan) includes a Spa Biologique Recherche with three treatment and beauty cabins (one with sea views), a hair salon using Davines products and lounges with ocean views. Guests can enjoy a sauna (Ikuma) and a snow room (Siku) for hot-and-cold experiences, a gym with panoramic sea views and Technogym equipment and a heated indoor swimming pool with counter-current swim feature beneath a skylight. A sunroom and Detox Bar complete the wellness offering.

Sustainability & innovation

Le Commandant Charcot is designed with environmental performance and technical innovation at its core. It is the first hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) with high-capacity batteries, significantly reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and fine particles compared with traditional fuels. The ship’s hybrid system enables zero-emission sailing in electric mode in sensitive areas. Advanced wastewater treatment and comprehensive waste sorting are used onboard and single-use plastics have been eliminated, with drinking water produced from seawater and distributed in refillable containers. Energy-saving measures include LED lighting, energy recovery systems and navigation optimisation. Le Commandant Charcot is Clean Ship certified by Bureau Veritas, reflecting strict environmental standards for air emissions, waste and water treatment.