Selar is currently building its next-level expedition ship at the Chantier Naval de l’Ocean Indien (CNOI) in Port Louis, Mauritius.

According to the company’s CEO and Founder, Sophie Galvagnon, the shipyard was deemed ideal because of two main factors.

“They are close to the Subantarctic Islands, so they are used to polar strengths and adaptable ships,” she told Cruise Industry News during an exclusive interview.

Selar is currently building a unique expedition ship that was designed to be as close to zero emissions as possible.

The ice-strengthened vessel will use the sun and wind as its main power sources, with five solid sails covered in 20,000 square feet of solar panels.

Galvagnon leads the project, which includes plans for a mid-2026 start-upP, sailing year-round in the Arctic.

The CNOI shipyard was also ideally suited to build one of the Selar’s main features: its 35-meter-high solid sails.

“We had to find a shipyard that could adapt to special industrial techniques to build them,” she noted.

The 2001-founded shipyard is partially French-owned, working with France-based suppliers for over 60 percent of the ship’s value, Galvagnon added.

“It was also important for us, as part of our commitment to our country,” she said, highlighting Selar’s headquarters in France.

The 70-meter-long vessel, which will be able to accommodate up to 36 guests, in addition to 24 crew members, is expected to be the first in a series of up to ten newbuilds planned by the company for the next ten years.

“We are working on expanding the fleet with sister ships, which will also be optimized for cold weather and can sail in either the Arctic or Antarctica,” Galvagnon said.

“Then we plan to continue to grow the fleet but maybe by design ships for other parts of the world, so we might do research and development of new kinds of vessels,” she added.