''Le Ponant'' is a three-masted, commercially operated

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

luxury yacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

operated by Compagnie du Ponant. The ship has capacity for up to 32 passengers in 16 cabins. It was built 1991 by the Societe Francaise de Construction Navales (SFCN) shipyard in

Villeneuve-la-Garenne Villeneuve-la-Garenne () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris in the Hauts-de-Seine department in the Île-de-France region. History The commune of Villeneuve-la-Garenne was created on 9 ...

, France. In 2008, the ship was attacked by

Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somal ...

and was only released after a military intervention. In 2022, the yacht was refitted for increased environmental protection to a design by Jean-Philippe Nuel Studio.

Description

On board, ''Le Ponant'' has one restaurant. Le Diamant panoramic restaurant offers buffet breakfast and dinner as well as fine gastronomic cuisine. ''Le Ponant'' was entirely refitted and refurbished in 2022. Having been totally renovated with a design by the Jean-Philippe Nuel Studio, the end result was 16 staterooms for a maximum of 32 guests. ''Le Ponant'', which will navigate under sail as often as possible, includes other improvements such as a dockside connection, an innovative system of SCR filters to eliminate fine particles and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 90%, waste sorting and a state-of-the-art water treatment system – all to help protect the environment.

2008 Somali pirate attack

On 4 April 2008, ''Le Ponant'' was seized by

in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

while en route from the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. 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. French forces, including the aviso '' Commandant Bouan'', and a Canadian

CH-124 The Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King is a twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed for shipboard use by Canadian naval forces, based on the US Navy's Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, SH-3. It served with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and ...

helicopter from were monitoring the yacht after its seizure. The hostages were released without incident on 12 April. Following the release, French helicopters from the

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

military base tracked the pirates to the village of

Jariban Jariban ( so, Jariiban, ar, جاريبان, it, Geriban) is a town in the north-central Mudug region of Somalia. It is the center of the Jariban District. It is administered by Puntland. Demographics Jariban has a population of approximately 20 ...

. French ''commando marine'' and

GIGN The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (suc ...

operating from the frigate and the cruiser 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. The six captured pirates were flown to Paris, where they faced trial in 2012.

Footnotes

References

External links

Compagnie du Ponant official site page about the ship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Ponant 1991 ships Battles and conflicts without fatalities Conflicts in 2008 France–Somalia relations Maritime incidents in 2008 Naval battles involving pirates Operations involving French special forces Piracy in Somalia Ships attacked and captured by pirates Ships built in France Ships of Compagnie du Ponant