Le Boreal

This article is about the cruise ship. For other uses, see Boreal (disambiguation).

The cruise ship Le Boreal in Ísafjörður in 2011.
History
France
Name	Le Boreal
Owner	Compagnie du Ponant
Operator	Compagnie du Ponant
Port of registry	Mata-Utu (Wallis & Futuna Islands), France
Builder	Fincantieri
Laid down	22 April 2009
Completed	27 April 2010
Identification	Call sign: FLSY IMO number: 9502506 MMSI number: 578000500
Status	in active service, as of 2017
General characteristics
Tonnage	10,944 GT
Length	142.1 m (466 ft)
Beam	18 m (59 ft)
Draught	4.8 m (16 ft)
Decks	6 (guest decks)
Capacity	264 passengers
Crew	136

Le Boreal is a cruise ship owned and operated by the French cruise line company Compagnie du Ponant.

It cruises to Antarctica and other places.

Design and description

The vessel is 126 metres (413 ft 5 in) in length, has 132 cabins and suites for 264 passengers and 140 crew members.

Construction and career

Completed in 2010, she is a sister vessel of L'Austral, Le Lyrial and Le Soléal. Le Boreal entered service on 6 May 2010.

Between 25 February and 6 March 2018, video journalist and podcaster Brady Haran conducted an expedition to Antarctica aboard this vessel.

2015 engine room fire

On 18 November 2015 Le Boreal suffered a major engine room fire which caused the loss of all power and left her drifting. The captain ordered the ship, with 347 passengers and crew, to be abandoned early in the morning. A distress call was issued just after 2 a.m. while it was near Cape Dolphin, the northerly point of East Falkland, Falkland Islands. The news agency reported that 90 of the ship's 347 passengers and crew were air-lifted to safety from life rafts. The sister ship L'Austral responded to the distress call and took on some passengers.

Working closely with the Falkland Islands Government, British forces enacted a major search and rescue plan. Two Sea King Royal Air Force Search and Rescue helicopters were scrambled, along with two other support helicopters, a C-130 Hercules and a Voyager aircraft for command and control. The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Clyde was dispatched to the scene, as were two Dutch tugs which support British forces in the Falkland Islands. Subsequently, all passengers and crew from Le Boreal were accounted for and being looked after on the Falkland Islands. The vessel was later reported in a stable condition and the tugs were assisting to bring her alongside in the Falkland Islands for a detailed assessment of her condition. In March 2016, Ponant confirmed that Le Boreal would resume service in May. The investigators' report was released in July 2016, and attributed the fire to a ship's officer's misidentification of a clogged fuel filter; the report noted that the officer did not have a mechanic's rating, and Ponant subsequently changed several work rules in response to the report.

In popular culture

Le Boreal was featured in episode three of the fifth season of the TV series Mighty Ships. The ship was shown taking tourists to South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula.

References

Bibliography

• Saunders, Aaron (2013). Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848321724.
• Smith, Peter C. (2014). Cruise Ships - The Small Scale Fleet: A Visual Showcase. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 9781781592816.

External links

• Official website