Advertisement

PONANT CRUISES: French operator sold

The Small French operator Compagnie du Ponant has been sold by the giant container company CMA CGM to Merit Corporation, a Lebanese private equity holding. Merit already owned 80 per cent of CMA CGM, with the balance of shares held by the Turc Yildrim Group of Turkey. At the same time, Ponant has disposed of its oldest vessel, Le Diamant (1974/8,282), which has been acquired by a Bahamian company, which in turn is owned by International Shipping Partners of Miami.

Le Diamant was built as the coastal ro-ro Fernhill, later becoming the Begonia. In 1984 she was acquired by Exploration Cruise Lines, to be completely rebuilt as a luxury cruise ship at a cost of US$40 million. The work was undertaken by Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, and the vessel entered service in mid-1986 as the 226-passenger Explorer Starship. She later established a fine reputation as the upmarket Song of Flower and was acquired by Ponant in 2004.

As reported in Ships Monthly in December 2011, Ponant has placed an order for a 10,700gt sister to Le Boreal (2010) and L’Austral (2011) and sold Le Levant (1998/3,500gt) to Paul Gauguin Cruises as Moana.

Ships Montly - January 2024

Damen completes green retrofit project for BAM Shipping

Damen Shipyards Group, together with partners including Atal Solutions has completed its retrofit of four bulk carriers for BAM Shipping. The project has involved the...
Advertisement

Related articles

Damen completes green retrofit project for BAM Shipping

Damen Shipyards Group, together with partners including Atal Solutions has completed its retrofit of four bulk carriers for...

Regional Container Lines orders new container ships

Regional Container Lines (RCL), a Bangkok-listed shipping company, has placed an order for four new container ships from...

CLdN launches new Zeebrugge-Cork-Dublin service

CLdN launch a new weekly service between Zeebrugge and Ireland on 10 May. CLdN chartered an 800 TEU...

North Star marks delivery of first CSOV Grampian Kestrel

North Star officially named its first commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV), Grampian Kestrel, at a ceremony at VARD’s...