''Le Lapérouse'' is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the of

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer, and ''Le Lapérouse'' is named after naval officer

Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse Commodore (rank), Commodore Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (; 23 August 1741 – ) was a French Navy officer and explorer. Having enlisted in the Navy at the age of 15, he had a successful career and in 1785 was appointed to lea ...

History

Built by

VARD Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

, ''Le Lapérouse'' had her keel laid down at VARD's

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by #Names, alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 65,624 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. It is one ...

yard in Romania on 1 March 2017. She was floated out on 18 December 2017, and was then finally outfitted at the builder's Søviknes facility in

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

, Norway. After successful sea trials that began in May 2018, she was delivered to Ponant in Ålesund on 15 June 2018. The following day, 16 June 2018, ''Le Lapérouse'' departed for

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland, where she commenced her maiden cruise on 19 June 2018. She was christened by Maryvonne Pinault, the wife of French billionaire businessman

François Pinault François Pinault (born 21 August 1936) is a French billionaire businessman, founder of the luxury group Kering and the investment holding company Artémis. Pinault started his business in the timber industry in the early 1960s. Taken public i ...

, at a ceremony in

Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður, officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður, is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region, on the s ...

, Iceland, on 10 July 2018.

2021: New Zealand

In late January 2021, it was reported the New Zealand-based tourism company Wild Earth Travel had chartered ''Le Lapérouse'' to run small expeditions around the country commencing 30 January. The cruise ship applied for visa exemptions to enter New Zealand due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

border restrictions. While

Immigration New Zealand Immigration New Zealand (; INZ), formerly the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS), is the agency within the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) that is responsible for border control, issuing travel visas and m ...

granted the ship and essential crew visa exemptions, 60 hospitality staff were denied visa exemptions on the grounds that they needed to hire New Zealanders. Though the hospitality crew were denied visa exemptions twice, ''Le Lapérouse'' still sailed for New Zealand. In response to media interest, Immigration Minister

Kris Faafoi Kristopher John Faafoi (born 23 June 1976) is a former New Zealand television journalist and Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Mana electorate from 2010 until 2020, when he became a list MP. Faafoi held a numbe ...

defended Immigration New Zealand's decision, stating that ''Le Lapérouse'' should have waited for the department to process its crew's visa applications before sailing for New Zealand. The ship was instructed to return its hospitality crew to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

in order to re-enter New Zealand.

References

External links

Compagnie du Ponant official site page about the ship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laperouse 2017 ships Ships built in Norway Ships built in Romania Ships of Compagnie du Ponant