Ponant’s Le Bellot recently completed five years of service after being delivered by the VARD shipyard in March 2020.

Originally ordered in 2018, the 10,000-ton ship debuted as the fifth in a series of six Explorer-class ships for the French brand.

Like its sister ships, Le Bellot had its hull built at VARD’s yard in Romania, while final outfitting took place at the builder’s facility in Norway .

The vessel was named after Joseph René Bellot, a French naval officer and Arctic explorer who explored Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic in the 1800s.

With the Covid-19 pandemic preventing ships from sailing with guests, Le Bellot was placed in layup upon being delivered.

The vessel only welcomed its first paying guests in mid-2021, as part of Ponant’s service resumption in France .

During

See Full Page