Le Bellot

Le Bellot is the fifth ship of the Ponant Explorers class of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer, and Le Bellot is named after Joseph René Bellot, a French naval officer and Arctic explorer.^[1][2][3]

Le Bellot

History
Wallis and Futuna
Name	Le Bellot
Operator	Ponant
Port of registry	Mata Utu
Builder	VARD Tulcea, Romania (hull) VARD Søviknes, Norway (outfitting)
Laid down	4 April 2018
Acquired	March 2020
Identification	IMO number: 9852418 MMSI number: 578001500 Callsign: FLZG
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class and type	Ponant Explorers-class cruise ship
Capacity	184 passengers

Ponant's order for Le Bellot and a sister ship, the sixth of the class, was announced in March 2018.^[4] The hull of each ship was constructed by VARD in the builder's Tulcea yard in Romania; the steel cutting ceremony for both ships took place on 4 April 2018.^[2] Upon completion, the hulls were transferred to the builder's Søviknes facility in Ålesund, Norway, for final outfitting.^[2]

Le Bellot was delivered to Ponant in March 2020.^[5]