MY Le Ponant
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Le Ponant is a three-masted, commercially operated French luxury yacht 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, France.[1][2] In 2008, the ship was attacked by Somali pirates 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.[3] 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.[4][5]
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.[6] French forces, including the aviso Commandant Bouan, and a Canadian CH-124 helicopter from Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". were monitoring the yacht after its seizure.[7] 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 Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". and the cruiser Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 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.[8] The six captured pirates were flown to Paris, where they faced trial in 2012.[9][10]Script error: No such module "Unsubst".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Footnotes
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References
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External links
Template:Compagnie du Ponant ships Template:Piracy in Somalia
- Pages with script errors
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- 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
- Hijackings in 2008