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Paul Gauguin at Bora Bora | |
History | |
---|---|
The Bahamas | |
Name | Le Paul Gauguin |
Owner | Paul Gauguin Shipping Limited |
Operator | Ponant Cruises |
Port of registry | France |
Builder | Chantiers de l'Atlantique |
Launched | 25 April 1997 |
Completed | 1997 |
Identification |
|
Status | In service |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 19,200 GT |
Length | 504 ft (154 m) |
Beam | 71 ft (22 m) |
Draft | 16.9 ft (5.2 m) |
Decks | 7 passenger decks |
Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Capacity | 332 |
Crew | 215 |
MS Paul Gauguin is a cruise ship that was completed in 1997. It primarily operates in the South Pacific. Paul Gauguin Cruises is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ship did not sail for some time but resumed operations on 18 July 2020 for local residents and on 29 July for international guests, with reduced occupancy. [1]
A news report on 3 August 2020 stated that COVID-19 virus had been detected on the ship while it was in Papeete, Tahiti; passengers were required to stay in their cabins. As of that date, the ship was operated by the Ponant Company under the branding Paul Gauguin Cruises, [2] The capacity was stated to be 318 guests plus a crew of 216. The ship had been modified to use a "cleaner" fuel — low-sulphur marine gas oil (LS-MGO) — and the company planned "to offset 150 percent of its carbon emissions". The company's web site discussed renovations that had been completed. [3]
Paul Gauguin is 504 feet (154 m) long with a beam of 72 feet (22 m) and a draft of 17.1 feet (5.2 m). The cruise ship has a gross tonnage (GT) 19,200 and is powered by a diesel-electric system giving the vessel a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The ship has seven passenger decks and capacity for 318 guests. Paul Gauguin has a crew of 216. In 2019, it was announced that the vessel would be renovated to use low-sulphur marine gas oil instead of heavy marine fuel. [3]
The vessel was constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France. The cruise ship was launched on 25 April 1997 and completed and delivered on 1 December 1997 to Services et Transports Tahiti of Mata-Utu, French Polynesia. [4] The ship was christened at Port Everglades, Florida on 18 December and sailed for the Pacific the following day. [5]
Originally registered in France, the ship's registry was changed to the Bahamas until July 2020, when new owner Ponant re-registered the ship in Wallis & Futuna thus returning the ship to sail under the flag of France. [6]
On 1 August 2020, Polynésie la 1ère reported that a case of SARS-CoV-2 had been found aboard Paul Gauguin. [7] The passengers were told about the case that same day, and the ship immediately turned around, skipping its next port of call in Rangiroa, and headed back toward Papeete. [7] [8] All the passengers were requested to stay in their cabins while food was brought to them. [8]
The ship had left Tahiti on 30 July, and had made a stopover in Bora Bora before Compagnie du Ponant was aware of the presence of an asymptomatic case of the virus in a 22-year-old female passenger. [lower-alpha 1] [11] [2] During the stopover, both the passengers and the crew had been able to disembark and interact with the locals of Bora Bora for two days. [8]
Once Paul Gauguin arrived back in Papeete on the morning of 2 August, all 148 passengers and 192 crew members were placed in confinement. [11] [9]
French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean. The total land area of French Polynesia is 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), with a population of 278,786 of which at least 205,000 live in the Society Islands and the remaining population lives in the rest of the archipelago.
Papeete is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeete is the administrative capital. Both the President of French Polynesia and French High Commissioner reside in Papeete.
Air Tahiti Nui is the flag carrier of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia, with its head office and daily operations office in Faaa, Tahiti. It operates long-haul flights from its home base at Faa'a International Airport, with a fleet consisting of four Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Air Tahiti is a French airline company which operates in French Polynesia. Its main hub is Faa'a International Airport. It is the largest private employer in French Polynesia.
The MS Renaissance is a cruise ship that re-entered service in June 2023. The ship was built in Italy in 1992 as Maasdam for Holland America Line. While sailing for Holland America, the vessel operated primarily in North American waters. In 2020 she was bought by Seajets and renamed Aegean Myth, but did not trade. The ship was bought in 2022 by a new French operator, Compagnie Française de Croisières.
Marella Explorer 2, formerly Celebrity Century and SkySea Golden Era, was the lead ship of the Century class of cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises, and the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Millennium-class ship Celebrity Constellation, and the newest Solstice class, Celebrity Reflection. Other ships belonging to the Century class include Marella Explorer and Mein Schiff 2 (2011).
The Society Islands are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. Geographically, they form part of Polynesia.
Bora Bora Airport, also known as Motu Mute Airport, is an airport serving the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. It is located on the islet of Motu Mute.
This page list topics related to French Polynesia.
Ponant is a French cruise ship operator. It was founded in April 1988 by Philippe Videau, Jean-Emmanuel Sauvé, and other officers of the French Merchant Navy and launched the first French cruise ship. The company operates eleven ships, all of which operate under the French flag.
Papeari is a village on the south coast of Tahiti. It is located in Tahiti-nui district, around 32 miles from Papeete.
Paul Gauguin Cruises is a cruise line that was owned by Beachcomber Croisieres Limited until 2019, when it was purchased by French company Compagnie du Ponant. Paul Gauguin Cruises operates cruises with one ship, the Paul Gauguin, to Tahiti, French Polynesia and the South Pacific.
Celebrity Apex is an Edge-class cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Constructed at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France, she is the second vessel in the company's Edge class of ships, following the delivery of her sister ship, Celebrity Edge, in 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her debut sailing was from Athens on June 19, 2021 to the Greek Islands.
Denise Girard-Goupil, the first female lawyer in French Polynesia, was born in 1931 to parents Emile Goupil and Eliane Garnier. According to official records, Emile served as a police officer, bailiff and deputy-notary during his life. Girard-Goupil's great-grandfather was Auguste Goupil (1847-1921), a prominent lawyer who owned a plantation in Papeete, French Polynesia. He struck a friendship with Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. Auguste's daughter Jeanne was even the subject of Gauguin's painting “Portrait of a Young Woman. Vaïte (Jeanne) Goupil”.
Polynésie La Première, also known as Polynésie la 1ère, is a French public television channel based in Faa'a which broadcasts in French Polynesia.
The annexation of the Leeward Islands or the Leewards War was a series of diplomatic and armed conflicts between the French Third Republic and the native kingdoms of Raiatea-Tahaa, Huahine and Bora Bora, which resulted in the conquest of the Leeward Islands, in the South Pacific archipelago of the Society Islands in modern-day French Polynesia.
Early in 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease spread to a number of cruise ships, with the nature of such ships – including crowded semi-enclosed areas, increased exposure to new environments, and limited medical resources – contributing to the heightened risk and rapid spread of the disease.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia in March 2020. As of 24 August 2021, French Polynesia has been the worst affected country in Oceania both in terms of proportion relative to population of total confirmed cases and total deaths. French Polynesia has experienced two significant outbreak waves, the first between September 2020 - January 2021, and the ongoing second wave which began in July 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Wallis and Futuna is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna on 16 October 2020. As of 24 August 2021, there have been 454 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 7 deaths reported to WHO. The last reported confirmed case was reported in April 2021.
Infectious disease on cruise ships is a hazard associated with cruises. Outbreaks of contagious diseases can spread quickly due to the confined cruise ship environment, reliance on shared spaces, the lack of healthcare facilities, and the large number of passengers and crew members from disparate points of origin.