French cruise line Ponant has confirmed an order for the first electric hybrid cruise icebreaker.
The new ship, which will have 135 staterooms, is set for delivery in 2021.
It will be propelled by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and will sail to polar destinations such as the “geographic North Pole”, the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea and Peter I Island.
The vessel will be built in Norway by the Fincantieri shipyard’s Norwegian subsidiary Vard.
Ponant said it was working with “international experts to execute the world first”, including Arctic specialist Aker Arctic, which focuses on the development and design of icebreaker vessels.