by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:48 PM ET, Wed November 20, 2019
Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri announced it had signed a memorandum of agreement for the construction of two luxury expedition cruise vessels for the French cruise company PONANT.
Fincantieri officials revealed the deal is worth around $330 million, has an option for the development of a third sistership and is subject to the fulfillment of technical and financial conditions.
The two new expedition cruise ships are scheduled for delivery in 2022 and will be the next step in the evolution of PONANT Explorers class vessels.
"We are delighted to continue our historic collaboration with Fincantieri," PONANT CEO Jean Emmanuel Sauvee said in a statement. "This agreement for two additional ships allows us to develop PAUL GAUGUIN brand acquired a few weeks ago and consolidates our position as the world leader of luxury expedition cruise."
"For the first time in the world of cruising, these two new vessels will cut their engines and cease all emissions each day during each stop, for nearly ten hours per day," Sauvee continued. "Small-capacity ships at the cutting edge of technology and environmental preservation: this project fully matches our philosophy of sustainable tourism."
The new ships will each be able to accommodate about 230 passengers on board.
PONANT's new vessels will be equipped with cutting-edge technology in terms of environment and population protection, including equipment designed to allow the ships to operate smokeless when at anchor, in ports and environmentally sensitive areas.
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