MY Le Ponant

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For the former French Atlantic fleet, see Ponant fleet.
the Ponant
Career
Name: Le Ponant
Owner: CMA CGM
Operator: Compagnie des Îles du Ponant (Ponant Cruises)
Port of registry: 22x20px France[1]
Builder: SFCN, France[1]
Completed: 1991[1]
Identification: IMO number: 8914219

MMSI number 227186000

Call sign FGZZ[2]
Status: In service
General characteristics [1]
Type: luxury yacht
Tonnage: 1,489 GT (gross tonnage)
Length: 88 m (288 ft 9 in)
Beam: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draft: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Decks: 3 (passenger accessible)
Installed power: 2,200 hp motor and sails[citation needed]
Propulsion: 1 propeller
1,500 m2 (16,000 sq ft) sail area
Sail plan: three masts
Speed: 14 / 6 kts under sail[citation needed]
Capacity: 67 passengers
Crew: 30

Le Ponant is a three-masted, commercially operated French luxury yacht owned by CMA CGM and operated under their Ponant Cruises brand. The ship carries up to 67 passengers in 32 cabins. It was built 1991 by the SFCN shipyard in France.[1]

Operation Thalathine

April 4, 2008 incident off Somalia
Part of the Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa
Date 04 April 2008
Location Gulf of Aden, near the coast of Somalia
Result French victory
Belligerents
22x20px France Somali Pirates
Strength
1 Aviso
2 Frigates 		1 captured yacht
12 pirates
Casualties and losses
none 1 yacht recaptured
6 captured
 
File:Commandant Bouan.jpg
Commandant Bouan

On April 4 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; one Cameroonian, six Filipinos, 22 French, and one Ukrainian.[3] French forces, including the aviso Commandant Bouan and a Canadian helicopter from HMCS Charlottetown were monitoring the yacht after its seizure.[4]

The hostages were released without incident on April 12.

Following the release, French helicopters tracked the pirates from the Djibouti military base to the village of Jariban. French commando marine and GIGN operating from the frigate Jean Bart and the Jeanne d'Arc 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.[5] The six captured pirates have since been flown to Paris, where they shall face trial.[6]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ward, Douglas (2008). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. pp. 419. ISBN 978-981-268-240-6. 
  2. ↑ "Vessel details LE PONANT" (in English). Digital-Seas.com. http://www.digital-seas.com/vessel_search/vessel_details/on/le%20ponant_q39767.html. Retrieved 2010-05-31. : Current position, data, and photos of LE PONANT
  3. ↑ "Somali pirates seize French yacht". BBC News. 4 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7331290.stm. 
  4. ↑ "France is tracking hijacked yacht". BBC News. 5 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7332003.stm. 
  5. ↑ "France raid ship after crew freed". BBC News. 12 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7342292.stm. 
  6. ↑ "France charges Somali 'pirates'". BBC News. 18 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7355598.stm. 

References

Videos

External links

v • d • e
Ships attacked by Somali pirates (List)
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010


fr:Le Ponant (yacht) nl:Le Ponant no:«Le Ponant» fi:Le Ponant

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