Ship reference
Le Lapérouse
Ship specifications and sources.
Quick facts
- Cruise line
- PONANT Explorations
- Class
- PONANT Explorers
- Entered service
- 2018
- Status
- In service
About us Le Lapérouse
Le Lapérouse was the first ship in PONANT's Explorer series. Vard records delivery in June 2018 from its Søviknes outfitting yard in Norway. The individual design reference is VARD 6 08, yard number 848. These identifiers distinguish the ship from the five later Explorers, even where their outward appearance is similar.
Its original service year is independently supported by India's shipping ministry. The ministry's 2018–19 report records the ship arriving in Chennai on 25 December 2018 with passengers aboard, then departing for Port Blair. That is a dated historical call, not an assertion of a present Indian homeport. The crew on that particular sailing is also not substituted for today's published complement.
The current operator inventory lists a maximum of 184 guests, 92 staterooms and suites, and 118 crew. The maximum is explicitly labelled. A double-occupancy value is not silently derived from the room count. Compare the actual room category and configuration rather than assuming every unit occupies the same space or gives the same outlook.
Explorer features include the Blue Eye underwater lounge. This is a specific onboard environment for experiencing the sea through its windows and sensory installation; it does not turn the vessel into a diving craft. Its relevance to a trip depends on the balance between time aboard and the chosen destination activities. Read the actual departure programme alongside the ship description.
Vard specifies 131 metres overall length and eighteen metres moulded beam. Current individual insurance records identify IMO 9814026, gross tonnage of 10022 and registry in Mata Utu. Precise ship-specific particulars are retained separately from rounded design publicity. An unrelated tonnage label on a builder reference is not treated as a substitute for the individual current entry.
For practical planning, compare the accommodation, shared spaces and itinerary together. A smaller expedition ship can have a different daily rhythm from a conventional ocean cruise. Confirm embarkation location and activity requirements before arranging independent transport. The Explorer label explains a design family; the actual route determines how the voyage unfolds.
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Year built | 2018 |
| Entered service | 2018 |
| Gross tonnage (GT) | 10,022 |
| Guests at double occupancy | — |
| Maximum guests | 184 |
| Crew | 118 |
| Cabins | 92 |
| Decks (total) | — |
| Length (m) | 131 |
| Beam (m) | 18 |
| Last verified refurbishment year | — |
| Maximum speed (knots) | — |
| IMO | 9814026 |
| Shipyard | Vard Søviknes, Norway (outfitting yard) |
| Flag | France |
| Propulsion / fuel description | — |
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.
| Le Bellot | PONANT Explorers | 2020 | 9,888 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Bougainville | PONANT Explorers | 2019 | 9,988 |
| Le Champlain | PONANT Explorers | 2018 | 10,022 |
| Le Dumont d’Urville | PONANT Explorers | 2019 | 9,988 |
| Le Jacques Cartier | PONANT Explorers | 2020 | 9,988 |
Last checked:
Sources
- Ponant — currentindividualprogramme — Accessed
184maximum92rooms118crew; BlueEyeExplorerfeature.
- Ponant — currentExplorerfamily — Accessed
- Vard — individualdelivery and explicittechnicalbasis — Accessed
SoviknesOUTFITTINGnotentirehullbuildchain;June/September2018;131LOA18moulded. 10000tlabeldeadweightnotadoptedasregisteredGT;290allpersonsnotpax.
- SteamshipMutual — currentindividual2026/27entry — Accessed
Individual9814026/9814038;10022GT;MataUtuFrenchregistry.
- IndiaMinistryofShipping — actual2018commercialcall — Accessed
2018–19annualreportChennai25December2018actual151passengers113crew; countsdatednotcurrentcomplement.