PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have forged a three-year partnership advancing ocean research and education. The partnership marks the first of its kind for WHOI – the world’s largest independent ocean science organisation.
The alliance underscores PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP’s ongoing commitment to providing scientists with access to the most remote parts of the planet, while giving guests a front-row seat to scientific research and innovation.
Since 2021, PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP has hosted more than 230 scientists across its fleet. Through this new link, WHOI scientists will now join select PONANT EXPLORATIONS expeditions—many aboard the luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot—to conduct fieldwork, test emerging technologies, and share their expertise through interactive guest programming.
The company will also provide grant funding to help support WHOI’s polar science work, and launch educational campaigns, including a soon-to-be-announced symposium at sea highlighting the importance of ocean conservation.
“At PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP, we’re committed to advancing knowledge of the oceans and scientific research as part of our broader mission to explore responsibly and travel with care,” said Samuel Chamberlain, CEO, PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP Americas. “By empowering scientists with access to some of the world’s most remote regions, we’re helping to deepen understanding of the planet we all share.
“This partnership with WHOI reflects our shared commitment to ocean science and sustainability, creating meaningful impact at sea and beyond.
“We’re proud to provide a platform for innovation and education that will accelerate lasting change and global awareness in ocean conservation.”
The PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP-WHOI program comes at a time when access to remote areas such as polar regions has been challenged by cuts to science funding, and research space aboard funded vessels is shrinking.
“Access to these polar regions remains critical to furthering our understanding of ice sheet evolution, its rate of change, and implications for future sea level rise,” said Dr. Catherine Walker, an Associate Scientist renowned for her research on ice-ocean interactions, Antarctic coastal change, and ice shelf rifting processes and iceberg calving.
“Getting close to glacier fronts is really one of the only ways to collect this information at a large enough scale to observationally constrain processes and improve modeling.
The first expedition under the new partnership will take place on The Emperor Penguins of the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica, departing 31 October 2025. Additional WHOI expeditions, research projects, technology testing, and educational programs will be announced in the coming months, continuing to unite exploration, research, and responsible travel.
Lead image: The Weddell Sea | Credit: ©PONANT Julien Fabro
