Expedition Cruise Ship Le Bellot transits the Cape Cod Canal 10/14/26

The Luxury Expedition Cruise Ship Le Bellot operated by Ponant cruises transits the Cape Cod Canal Wednesday afternoon under a mostly cloudy sky after her visit in Provincetown. Named after Joseph René Bellot (1826–1853), a 19th-century French naval officer and Arctic explorer who explored Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic. Ordered in 2018 as the fifth ship in Ponant's Ponant Explorers-class series. The hull was built by VARD at its shipyard in Tulcea, Romania, and steel cutting began on April 4, 2018. Final outfitting took place at VARD’s facility in Søviknes, Ålesund, Norway. She was launched on July 26, 2019, and formally delivered to Ponant in March 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vessel was placed in layup immediately upon delivery. Welcomed its first paying guests in mid-2021, operating coastal itineraries around France starting from Saint-Malo. Later in 2021, it led the cruising return to the Seychelles. Officially christened on May 21, 2022, in Port Honfleur, France, with godmother Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre. Accommodates 184 passengers across 92 staterooms and suites (all with private balconies), supported by a crew of about 110 to 118. Measures 430 feet (131 meters) in length, with a gross tonnage of 9,976 GT. Features the Blue Eye, the world’s first multi-sensory underwater observation lounge located below the waterline with digital screens and hydrophones. Equipped with ice-strengthened hulls (Ice Class 1C), a forward-looking FarSounder 1000 3D sonar for navigating icy or shallow waters, and a marina platform carrying a fleet of Zodiacs.