Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot will visit Australia for the first time in 2026

• Luxury ice-breaker Le Commandant Charcot will arrive in Hobart on February 15, 2026.
• She is on a half-circumnavigation from Argentina to Tasmania.
• The 31-day expedition will follow the footsteps of famous explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Ponant Explorations’ luxury ice-breaker, Le Commandant Charcot is heading for Australia for the first time when she retraces the legendary Antarctic route from Argentina to Tasmania in February 2026.

Le Commandant Charcot will depart Ushuaia, Argentina on 16 January 2026 to embark on an unrivalled half-circumnavigation of 31 days that will take her to Australia for the first time, arriving in Hobart on 15 February 2026.

Charcot will cross the legendary southern seas of Bellingshausen and Amundsen and if conditions permit, she will attempt to reach the Charcot Island which is enveloped in a blanket of ice and sheer cliffs. Very few people have landed on this largely untouched island.

She will then cross the Ross Sea, one of the world’s largest marine protected sea where Antarctic petrels, humpback whales, orcas, leopard seals, Adelie and Royal penguins can be spotted. There will be excursions to Terra Nova Bay, home to the stunning Drygalski Ice Tongue, which is at least 4000 years old and stretches 70kms out to sea. Guests will then follow in the footsteps of explorer Ernest Shackleton and attempt Cape Royds on Ross Island.

The expedition will also call at Balleny Islands, an extremely remote series of islands straddling the Antarctic Circle. Here they will be rewarded by sightings of Humpback, fin and minke whales, Weddell, elephant and leopard seals and significant colonies of Chinstrap and Adelie penguins.

The half-circumnavigation of the Antarctic will be an unforgettable expedition into the heart of the ice and a continent full of extremes.

Captain Patrick Marchesseau said that Ponant is presently working on an itinerary for a total circumnavigation around Antarctica.

Launched in 2021, Ponant describes Charcot as a game-changer for polar explorations.

Starting price for the 31-day Unexplored Antarctica between Two Continents is $91,100 per person.

Onboard the legendary journey will be guest speaker and historian Jonathan Shackleton, cousin of the famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Over 25 years, he has been a guide, photographer and Zodiac driver on many trips to the Antarctic and has been on private voyages with famous guests including Tom Hanks and Michael Palin.

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