MY Le Ponant

Le Ponant

History
Name:|  Le Ponant
Port of registry:|  France[1]
Builder:|  SFCN, France[1]
Completed:|  1991[1]
Identification:|

IMO number: 8914219 MMSI number 227186000

Call sign FGZZ[2]
Status:|  In service
General characteristics [1]
Type:|  Luxury yacht
Length:|  88 m (288 ft 9 in)
Beam:|  12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draft:|  4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Decks:|  3 (passenger accessible)
Propulsion:|

* 1 propeller
* 1,500 m2 (16,000 sq ft) sail area

Sail plan:|  three masts
Capacity:|  67 passengers
Crew:|  30

Le Ponant is a three-masted, commercially operated France luxury yacht operated by Compagnie du Ponant. The ship carries up to 67 passengers in 32 cabins. It was built 1991 by the Societe Francaise de Construction Navales (SFCN) shipyard in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, France.[1][3]

## Contents

* 1 Facilities
* 2 2008 Somali pirate attack
* 3 Footnotes
* 4 References

## Facilities

On board, Le Ponant has two restaurants. The Karukera Dining Room provides French cuisine and the outdoor Le Diamant restaurant is for more informal meals. There are two lounges; the Emeraude Lounge which is the main entertainment lounge, and the Saphir Lounge, a lecture hall with internet computers.[4]

## 2008 Somali pirate attack

On 4 April 2008, Le Ponant was seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden while en route from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean. The ship carried no passengers at the time of its capture, but all 30 crewmembers were taken hostage; 22 French, 6 Filipino, 1 Cameroonian and 1 Ukrainian.[5] French forces, including the aviso Commandant Bouan, and a Canadian CH-124 helicopter from HMCS Charlottetown were monitoring the yacht after its seizure.[6] The hostages were released without incident on 12 April.

Following the release, French helicopters from the Djibouti military base tracked the pirates to the village of Jariban. French commando marine and GIGN operating from the frigate Jean Bart and the cruiser Jeanne d'Arc moved in when the pirates attempted to flee in the desert. A sniper disabled the get-away vehicle, and the commandos were able to capture six men. Local officials claimed that three people died in the raid, with a further eight wounded, but France denied this. Troops also recovered some of the ransom money paid by the owner of the yacht for the release of its crew.[7] The six captured pirates were flown to Paris, where they faced trial in 2012.[8][9][needs update]

## Footnotes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ward, Douglas (2008). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. pp. 419. ISBN 978-981-268-240-6. https://archive.org/details/berlitzcompleteg00ward/page/419.
2. ↑ "Vessel details LE PONANT". Digital-Seas.com. http://www.digital-seas.com/vessel_search/vessel_details/on/le ponant_q39767.html. : Current position, data, and photos of LE PONANT
3. ↑ "Deutz-Powered Cruise Sailing Ship Launched At SFCN Shipyard". Maritime Reporter (New Wave Media). https://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MaritimeReporter/199102/content/deutzpowered-launched-shipyard-200233. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
4. ↑ "Le Ponant Cruise Ship Description and Cruises". Choosing Cruising. http://www.choosingcruising.co.uk/cruiseweb/ShpDetailsQuery.asp?nShp=323&nLin=111.
5. ↑ "Somali pirates seize French yacht". BBC News. 4 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7331290.stm.
6. ↑ "France is tracking hijacked yacht". BBC News. 5 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7332003.stm.
7. ↑ "France raid ship after crew freed". BBC News. 12 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7342292.stm.
8. ↑ "France charges Somali 'pirates'". BBC News. 18 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7355598.stm.
9. ↑ "Six Somali pirates on trial in Paris over capture of Le Ponant crew". 22 May 2012. http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20120522-six-somali-pirates-trial-paris-over-capture-le-ponant.

## References

* "Le Ponant". Worldwide Resorts & Cruise Associates. http://www.cruiseco.com/products_01/Sailing Ships/Le Ponant/ponant.htm.

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