Travel

When the only two ships on Earth capable of reaching the North Pole met face-to-face in rare encounter

Published on Dec 07, 2025 at 12:15 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson

Last updated on Dec 04, 2025 at 9:56 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Emma Matthews

These are the only two ships on Earth capable of reaching the North Pole – but what would happen when they would meet face-to-face?

On one side is the French ice-class ship Commander Sharko, on the other is the Russian 50 Years of Victory.

In this remarkable moment, the two ships come face to face in the Arctic.

The crews on both ships were overjoyed at the scenes.

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These are the only two ships capable of reaching the North Pole – and they met face-to-face

The exceptional footage was shared on Instagram by photographer Vadim Makhorov.

In the description of the video, he drummed up the remarkable nature of the meeting.

“Russian atomic icebreaker 50 years of Victory and French icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot,” he wrote.

When the only two ships on Earth capable of reaching the North Pole met face-to-face in rare encounter
Vadim Makhorov/@makhorov

“If you are going to the Pole on a ship, you will only have to choose from these two, there are no other options in the world.”

In the footage, the crews of both ships are seen front and center, waving to each other as their ships come to a halt on the ice.

The scale of this meeting can’t be overstated – these are some seriously gigantic vessels.

And to have a meeting in the most remote part of the world?

When the only two ships on Earth capable of reaching the North Pole met face-to-face in rare encounter
Vadim Makhorov/@makhorov

Nothing short of extraordinary.

People were left in awe of this footage and praised it in the comments section.

“I’ve seen this video countless amount of times, and I will do it again and again. Everything aligns just perfectly in this video. WOW,” one fan gushed.

“That’s one of the best things I’ve seen here, beautiful!” another wrote.

When the only two ships on Earth capable of reaching the North Pole met face-to-face in rare encounter
Vadim Makhorov/@makhorov

Taking a closer look at these remarkable icebreaker ships

What do we know about these two mighty vessels?

Let’s take a look at 50 Years of Victory, made in honor of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.

This nuclear-powered icebreaker measures in at 524ft long and can carry crews of up to 189.

When the only two ships on Earth capable of reaching the North Pole met face-to-face in rare encounter
Vadim Makhorov/@makhorov

Facilities onboard the ship include a swimming pool, a library, a restaurant, a massage facility, and a music salon.

That’s almost as many amenities as the Anawa, and that’s a superyacht!

As for the Le Commandant Charcot, that ship comes in at 492ft long and can carry 187 crew members, alongside 270 passengers across 135 cabins.

You read that right – passengers.

That’d certainly make for a different type of vacation, wouldn’t it? Would make a big change for this woman who lives her whole life on cruise ships.

Both these ships have made multiple trips up to the Arctic over the years.

Le Commandant Charcot holds the distinction of being the first ship to reach the Northern Pole of accessibility, which it achieved on September 12, 2024.

These ships live many lives in their time – remember the 1973 German salvage tug boat that’s now a luxury superyacht?

To see the remarkable meeting in the North Pole for yourself, visit Vadim Makhorov on Instagram.

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Ben Thompson is a Senior Content Writer at supercarblondie.com. Ben has more than four years experience as a qualified journalist, having graduated with a Multimedia Journalism degree from News Associates. Ben specializes in writing about Teslas, tech and celebrity car collections.