TARA OCEAN
Tara Polar Station Officially Christened in Lorient, France
25 april 2025
© François Dourlen - Fondation Tara Ocean
Tara Polar Station — the second research vessel of the Tara Ocean Foundation and the first designed specifically to explore the North Pole — was officially christened on April 24, 2025, in Lorient, its home port.
Moored alongside the Tara schooner, the Foundation’s iconic first vessel, Tara Polar Station was inaugurated at the “Ponton de la Découverte” (Discovery Dock) in a ceremony that brought together major institutional and public figures, including Astronaut Thomas Pesquet and designer Agnès Troublé, known as agnès b., who served as the ceremonial patrons of the vessel
After 18 months of construction at Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) in Cherbourg, Tara Polar Station departed the shipyard on April 10 and sailed to Lorient—Tara’s historic home since 2003. Lorient will now host both of the Foundation’s scientific ships, reinforcing the city’s key role in ocean research and sustainability.
© François Dourlen - Fondation Tara Ocean
A Drifting Polar Observatory Like No Other
Purpose-built for Arctic research, Tara Polar Station is designed to study the biodiversity of the rapidly warming polar regions—where temperatures rise three to four times faster than the global average. This station represents a significant leap forward in ocean science, functioning as a drifting observatory and floating laboratory.
Eighteen years after the Tara Arctic expedition, the new station will undergo polar testing starting in June 2025. A trial drift mission is planned for the Fram Strait from July to August, followed by a winter test in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, in November.
Mission goals: gaining a better understanding of the Arctic to ensure a better future for the planet
The vessel’s first major scientific expedition—Tara Polaris I—is scheduled for 2026 and will last approximately 18 months, including around 14 months of drift. Over the next two decades, 10 expeditions are planned to study Arctic Ocean ecosystems and assess the impacts of climate change and pollution at the North Pole and beyond.
Each mission will host a rotating crew of 12 people in winter and up to 18 in summer, including sailors, scientists, artists-in-residence, and journalists.
— Tara Polar Station in Numbers —
- 5 years of design and development
- 18 months of construction at CMN
- 26 meters long and 16 meters wide
- 500-day autonomy
- 18 onboard crew capacity
- Built to withstand temperatures as low as -52°C
- 90% of its mission time will be spent frozen in ice
© François Dourlen - Fondation Tara Ocean
A Personal Mission Becomes a Collective Journey
© Maëva Bardy - Fondation Tara Ocean
In 2003, agnès b. and her son Étienne Bourgois acquired the schooner Tara, setting in motion a new adventure that combined their love for the sea with a desire to act for the planet. This vision gave birth to the Tara Ocean Foundation, France’s first Foundation Recognized as Being of Public Utility (FRUP) dedicated entirely to the Ocean.
The Foundation has been conducting scientific expeditions for over two decades to explore marine biodiversity, while observing and anticipating the effects of climate change and pollution. With Special Observer status at the United Nations, the Foundation is a key voice in international ocean governance.
The Tara Polar Station represents a pivotal moment for both the Foundation and the brand—a physical and symbolic expression of long-standing environmental advocacy, and a cutting-edge platform to push science forward.
