Ponant was founded in 1988 by officers of the French Merchant Navy, initially based in Nantes, and remains a distinctly French line, operating small ships under the French flag with a yacht-like, bilingual character. Its first ship, the three-masted sailing barque Le Ponant, entered service in 1991 and still heads the list below — the clearest statement of the scale Ponant has always preferred. Most of the fleet sits between about 10,000 and 11,000 GT: four Boréal-class sister ships, followed by six Ponant Explorers of just under 10,000 GT, all ice-strengthened luxury expedition ships carrying small numbers of guests. Two larger vessels broaden the range, among them Paul Gauguin, at 19,170 GT, built for warm-water cruising. The fleet's flagship in capability is Le Commandant Charcot, a 31,283 GT luxury icebreaker — the most capable passenger ship of her kind, and the extreme expression of Ponant's expedition identity.
The fleet — 13 ships in this directory
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnie_du_Ponant, https://thepointsguy.com/cruise/ponant-cruise-guide