“This is the future of sustainable cruise travel”: hybrid cruise ship moors in Zeebrugge

The Commandant Charcot ship is the first Polar hybrid expedition ship in the world and is owned by the French luxury shipping company PONANT. It is one of the most advanced cruise ships in the world and has quite a bit of technology on board.

“DThe places that we visit with this ship are places that you can only reach with this type of ship,” says Sam Verhaegen of Rederij Ponant. “Think of the geographical North Pole, where you really already icebreaker capacity must have for.” (read more below the photo)

The ship is not huge: there are only 123 cabins and suites for only 245 passengers. “That should create the feeling that you are on a luxury private yacht,” it sounds. “We are convinced that these types of small-scale ’boutique’ vessels are the future for sustainable cruising.” The ship therefore has fifty tons of batteries on board, good for 4,500 kW. There are also science laboratories on board.

The ship will depart from Hamburg and Scandinavia for the North Pole again in a few weeks.