by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 1:40 PM ET, Wed May 13, 2026
PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are deepening their three-year partnership with the launch of the new Polar Ocean Image Collection.
The collection, which is now freely accessible via the Ocean Image Bank, features more than 500 images captured by more than 30 photographers, including contributors from PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ onboard photo team.
The initiative provides no-cost, open access to media-quality ocean imagery for non-commercial use; it’s designed as a resource for nonprofits, conservation groups, news organizations and educators.
Six ships in the PONANT EXPLORATIONS fleet operate in Antarctica and the Arctic. Onboard photographers will continue to capture polar images for the collection, while guests on select voyages are invited to submit their own photographs for consideration.
Additionally, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will deploy new technologies across select PONANT EXPLORATIONS vessels, such as advancing imaging platforms, underwater robots, sensor arrays and artificial intelligence-enabled whale detection systems. Whale data will be collected and shared with scientists and ship captains, providing advance awareness for responsible wildlife observation.
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will join one of PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ Antarctica voyages in December 2027. Called “Antarctica: Ocean (Re)Imagined - with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,” the voyage departs from Ushuaia, Argentina, on December 7 aboard Le Lyrial. Guests on this voyage will have the opportunity to submit their own imagery for consideration to the Polar Ocean Image Collection.
“The ocean remains one of our greatest sources of wonder—and one of the least understood. We believe science and education are most powerful when experienced firsthand, where data and imagery together can spark curiosity and accelerate awareness,” says Samuel Chamberlain, chief executive officer in the Americas for PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP. “Through our collaboration with WHOI, the world’s most remote waters become a living classroom. With direct visibility into real-time research and data collection onboard, our guests gain rare insight into the science underway and become part of the story unfolding around them.”
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