Ship reference
L’Austral
Ship specifications and sources.
Quick facts
- Cruise line
- PONANT Explorations
- Class
- PONANT Sisterships
- Entered service
- 2011
- Status
- In service
About us L’Austral
L'Austral has been sailing for PONANT since 2011, according to its current individual programme. It followed Le Boréal in the group now called the Sisterships. Fincantieri's ship-specific technical page records the 2011 delivery. The vessel remains a separate hull under permanent IMO 9502518, rather than another name for its earlier sister.
The present operator inventory lists 132 staterooms and suites, a maximum of 264 guests and 145 crew. The maximum is explicitly labelled, so it can be compared without assuming a separate double-occupancy number. Crew headcount is also different from the builder's crew-cabin inventory. Those measures should remain separate when evaluating how accommodation and service spaces fit together.
Rooms include window accommodation and balcony categories. The actual room configuration matters, especially where connecting staterooms can form a larger suite. Compare the reserved category and location rather than treating every balcony room as an identical layout. Public-room positions above and below can be useful context, although a deck plan cannot guarantee silence.
Individual current insurance data identifies gross tonnage of 10944 and registry in Mata Utu. The builder specifies 142.1 metres overall length and a moulded beam of eighteen metres. Its machinery description identifies electric propulsion motors and Wärtsilä diesel generating sets. The published service speed is not reclassified as a maximum, and design-era tonnage is not substituted for the current individual entry.
The operator's present offering includes restaurants, lounges, theatre programming, a pool and wellness spaces. For a specific journey, compare what happens aboard with the departure's actual shore programme. A conventional port stop and an expedition landing can involve different procedures even if both appear within the same regional brochure.
L'Austral's position within the Sisterships does not make it interchangeable with the smaller sailing yachts or the later PONANT Explorers. Choose accommodation, ship and route as a combined decision. Then organise independent travel around the exact embarkation point and dates. A shared operator provides context, while the actual itinerary determines where and how your time is spent.
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Year built | 2011 |
| Entered service | 2011 |
| Gross tonnage (GT) | 10,944 |
| Guests at double occupancy | — |
| Maximum guests | 264 |
| Crew | 145 |
| Cabins | 132 |
| Decks (total) | — |
| Length (m) | 142.1 |
| Beam (m) | 18 |
| Last verified refurbishment year | — |
| Maximum speed (knots) | — |
| IMO | 9502518 |
| Shipyard | — |
| Flag | France |
| Propulsion / fuel description | Diesel-electric propulsion with two 2300 kW electric motors and four Wärtsilä 8L20 generating sets |
A dash means no independently verified value is available. Guest counts at double occupancy and maximum capacity are different measures. GT measures enclosed volume, not weight.
Other ships in the same recorded class
Shared class does not guarantee identical cabins, venues or deck layouts.
Last checked:
Sources
- Ponant — currentindividualprogramme — Accessed
Explicit264maximum132rooms145crew,2010/2011originalsailinghistory.
- Ponant — currentfamilygrouping — Accessed
Sisterships isoperatorfamilylabel noticeclassification.
- Fincantieri — individualengineeringrecord — Accessed
142.1LOA18moulded;2x2300electricmotors4x8L20. 10950designGTnotcurrent10944;400totalpersonsnotpax.
- SteamshipMutual — currentindividual2026/27entry — Accessed
9502506/9502518;10944GT;MataUtuFrenchregistry.