Speaking to TTG  during the company’s first-ever Seminar at Sea onboard Le Champlain last week, Stephen Winter outlined the company’s vision for its ambitious upcoming ship.

"We’re shooting for a vessel that doesn’t produce any emissions while sailing," he said. "It will be the absolute holy grail. Although at the moment we don’t know if it is possible. But we have been using some of the knowledge gained while building our other ships to improve upon that and make it happen." 

Ponant hopes the sailing vessel, which it claims will "have no impact on the environment" when sailing, will be delivered in 2025. The line said work on its next ship would involve identifying options to accelerate “ecological and energy transition” across its fleet.

"We’re excited about it," Winter added. "We have Le Commandant Charcot, which can go electric and go for several hours on that mode above and below the water with zero emissions. 

"But it cannot do it permanently, because LNG operates the engine which charges the batteries to allow it to run emission free. That was our first step to reduce carbon emissions by 30% and it is still one of the cleanest ships out there."

During the seminar, the company announced new sailings for 2023 and 2024, as well as its aim to boost its trade relations moving forward.