Ponant, Bygg nr. 848-851 ved Vard Søviknes, VARD 6 08 "Le Lapérouse", "Le Champlain", "Le Bougainville" & “Le Dumont-d'Urville”

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VARD SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT WITH PONANT

Singapore, 16 March 2016 – Vard Holdings Limited (“VARD”), one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of offshore and specialized vessels, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) for the construction of four luxury expedition cruise vessels for French cruise company PONANT.

The new series of vessels will be developed by VARD, PONANT and FINCANTIERI, based on experience from a series of four luxury cruise vessels delivered from FINCANTIERI to PONANT between 2010 and 2015. The vessels are luxurious expedition cruise vessels, designed for voyages to exotic destinations and remote ports only accessible to small capacity ships.

The ice-class expedition cruise vessels will be approximately 10,000 gross tons, about 128 metres long, 18 metres wide and will have a cruise speed of 15 knots. Each vessel can accommodate 180 passengers (92 cabins) and a crew of 110. The vessels will be arranged with high class of luxury facilities on board, fulfilling the highest demands for environmentally friendly and safe operations.

Delivery is scheduled from VARD in Norway in the period summer 2018 to summer 2019. The partners have a common intention to enter into contracts in 2Q 2016, subject to several conditions being met, including satisfactory financing.

CEO and Executive Director Mr. Roy Reite commented, “This project is fully in line with our diversification strategy to enter the expedition cruise market, realizing synergies and increased cooperation with our majority owner FINCANTIERI. We look forward to become acquainted with PONANT and their team, and we are honored to have been chosen as the preferred partner in this project.” Roy Reite continues: “Through our long shipbuilding history we have built a broad range of specialized vessels, and we are delighted to be part of developing the new series of luxury expedition cruise vessels for PONANT.”

PONANT, a subsidiary of ARTEMIS Group and headquartered in Marseille, France, was founded in 1988 by Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée and a dozen Merchant Navy officers. Today the company is a reference for a new style of high-end cruises, a unique concept for sea travel that combines exceptional itineraries with five-star amenities on small capacity luxury ships. Currently they operate a fleet of five vessels. PONANT is the only French-flag cruise line, and world number one for polar cruises.

www.ponant.com
 
VARD CONFIRMS CONTRACTS WITH PONANT

Singapore, 12 August 2016 – Vard Holdings Limited (“VARD”), one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of offshore and specialized vessels, is pleased to announce that contracts for four luxury expedition cruise vessels with French cruise company PONANT have been confirmed.

A Letter of Intent (“LoI”) with respect to the contracts had been announced on 16 March 2016, subject to several conditions being met, including satisfactory financing. At the end of June, VARD and PONANT had entered into shipbuilding contracts. All conditions have now been fulfilled and the contracts have become effective.

The ice-class expedition cruise vessels will be approximately 10,000 gross tons, about 131 metres long, 18 metres wide and will have a cruise speed of 15 knots. Each vessel can accommodate 180 passengers (92 cabins) and a crew of 110. The vessels will be arranged with high class of luxury facilities on board, fulfilling the highest demands for environmentally friendly and safe operations.

The hulls will be built at Vard Tulcea in Romania. Delivery is scheduled from Vard Søviknes in Norway in the period summer 2018 to summer 2019.

Overall length: 131 m | Breadth approx. 18 m | Luxury Expedition Cruise Vessel

PONANT EXPLORER SERIES VARD 6 08
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Alle illustrasjoner: Vard
 
Nå blir det fullt kjør ved Søviknes-verftet

Onsdag kom det første skroget som skal utrustes for Ponant, til Vard-verftet i Søviknes i Haram. Det franske cruiseselskapet har bestilt fire isgående skip på knappe 130 meter fra verftskonsernet.

– Nå blir det fullt kjør på Søviknes. Dette skipet skal leveres i juni, og deretter skal verftet leverer de tre neste fram til sommeren 2019, forteller kommunikasjonsdirektør Hege Anita Akselvoll i Vard til Sunnmørsposten.

Les meir på sidene til Sunnmørsposten

Bnr. 848 "Le Lapérouse"
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Foto: Jean-Robert Hildrestrand via SMP
 
Den andre av desse, bnr. 849 "Le Champlain" blei sjøsatt ved verftet i Romania og er nå på vei til Søvika
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Foto: Ukjent
 
interesting picture! In the background, another very large section for Fincantieri under construction, probably for one of the Costa ships.
 
The tug is the BB POWER (IMO 9694804). she left Tulcea on 3/4/'18 and has ETA Soviknes 29/4/'18. See Marinetraffic.
 
Den første av desse, bnr. 848 "Le Lapérouse" skal på sin første prøvetur i morgen 18. mai enda dei er langt fra ferdig med innredning etc.
 
Bnr. 848 "Le Lapérouse" har nyligt vert i dokk i Florø i løpet av prøveturen for å sette inn lys under vannlinja og rundt dei to observasjonsvindua som er framme i skroget, den såkalla "Blue Eye, the underwater lounge"

 
Bnr. 849 "Le Champlain" ved Vard Søviknes i går kveld. Var også ombord på omvisning, dessverre ikkje lov å ta bilder
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Foto: © Oddgeir Refvik
 
"Le Lapérouse" er ferdigstilt og overlevert fra Vard Søviknes. Var en tur innom Ålesund i går før den gjekk til Island for å ta ombord sine første passasjerer
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Foto: via Bypatrioten
 

YOUR CRUISE ADVISOR AT:
+33 4 91 16 16 27
OR CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL AGENT​

Join us tomorrow for our new Facebook LIVE, dedicated to the Blue Eye!
on our Facebook page
JOIN THE EVENT ►
Dear Guest,
During the launch of Le Lapérouse, the first out of 6 ships from the new PONANT EXPLORER series, I'll be happy to invite you to join us for an exclusive Facebook LIVE from the world's first multi-sensory underwater space, called Blue Eye.

The lines of the lounge, the positioning of the body, the furniture and the fittings... Everything has been developed to offer our passengers a unique immersive experience underwater. I will be happy to introduce you to this extraordinary lounge and to answer all of your questions during this Facebook LIVE, on Tuesday, July 10th at 3:45PM UTC.

See you tomorrow!​

Hervé BELLAICHE
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer PONANT​
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Le Laperouse Christened in Iceland

On Tuesday the new Le Lapérouse was christened by godmother Mrs. François Pinault in the presence of prominent political and cultural figures, international media and key partners.

The 180-guest ship is the first of six in Ponant's Explorer-class series, and marks the first of a new generation of over 28 new expedition ships industry-wide.

The Pinault family, through Groupe Artemis, owns the French luxury expedition cruise brand.

A key highlight of the day involved Le Lapérouse being greeted as she was sailing from Hafnarfjörður by Le Soléal, another Ponant ship, also positioned in Icelandic waters.

During the Breton-inspired ceremony - a nod to the origins of Ponant which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year - the Lann Bihoué Bagad’s bagpipes, Breton oboes and drums powerfully reverberated. Breton singer Bleuwenn Mevel gave an acapella rendition of the Breton anthem while the poignant sound of Konan Mevel’s (from famous Breton band Tri Yann) bagpipe resonated at the prow of the ship as she was sailing off.

Guests onboard discovered the Blue Eye for the first time, a multi-sensorial underwater lounge located in the hull below sea level.

French free diving champion Aurore Asso performed an underwatver aquatic ballet for guests onboard, who viewed the performance in the Blue Eye lounge.

Kilde: Cruise Industry News


Foto: Ukjent va Ponant
 
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