PONANT Inks 10-year Service Deal with ABB

PONANT’s polar exploration cruise vessel Le Commandant Charcot, which recently became the first to reach the geographic North Pole, has signed up for ABB MarineCare services to ensure safe and sustainable operations. The 10-year service agreement provides round-the-clock remote support, diagnostics and condition monitoring, as well as preventive and planned maintenance, and the critical spare parts. The service scope also includes warranty for the ship's energy storage system, supplied and integrated by ABB.

The Polar Class PC2 expedition vessel features the largest energy storage system ever installed on a cruise ship, as well as two ABB Azipod propulsion units with a combined power of 34 megawatts. With the electric drive motor situated in a submerged pod outside the ship hull, the Azipod system can rotate 360 degrees, increasing maneuverability and operating efficiency of a vessel and cutting fuel consumption by up to 20 percent compared to conventional shaftline systems, according to ABB.

Mathieu Petiteau, newbuilding director at PONANT, said, “ABB’s support ensures optimized performance of our advanced ABB technology on a continuous basis, bringing us complete peace of mind and allowing us to focus on delivering a unique travel experience.”

Jyri Jusslin, head of service, ABB Marine & Ports, said, “Our MarineCare agreement ensures that Le Commandant Charcot has full access to our remote services wherever in the world she is sailing, and offer the ship’s crew continuous training to help them respond to any unforeseen issues.”