The World Discoverer was a cruise ship dedicated to explore polar regions, it was abandoned in 2000 on Nggela Island, (Solomon Islands) after hitting a reef. I want to thank Lucas E. who contacted me to have the World explorer included on AO, not only did he send me all the information he gathered but he also wrote the entry on Wikipedia.
The following text is a shortened version of his article:
"The vessel was originally built in 1974. The ship was subsequently resold to many different owners along the years, and renamed as many times. The vessel has a double hull construction allowing for periodic voyages to Antarctic Peninsula region for its passengers to observe ice floe movements and protection for any iceberg impacts. The ship carries of fleet of inflatable dinghies allowing passenger to move closer to ice floes for observation.
The ship conducts cruises near the Southern Hemisphere and visits places like Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, Chile, Ushuaia, Argentina. During the period between March and May, the ship cruises the South Pacific Islands. It also cruises this area between the months of August and October. And finally, between the months of June and August, the ship around the Alaskan region and also near the Russian border around the Bering sea. Very few vessels have been constructed for exclusive cruising expeditions near or around icebergs. The double hulled construction could allowed impact with glaciers while sustaining very little damage to the ship or crew. The World Discoverer also has a 8,000 mile cruising range allowing the ship to be the first ship to ever transit the Northwest Passage.
On April 30, 2000, The ship struck a large uncharted rock or reef on the Sandfly Passage, Solomon Islands. A passenger ferry was dispatched to the ship where all passenger were then transported to safety. The captain then brought the ship into Roderick Bay after the ship began to list 20 degrees and grounded the ship to avoid sinking. The ship has remained in Roderick Bay ever since. The World Discoverer still sits in Roderick Bay on Nggela Island with a 46 degree list."
coordinates : 9°01'23.49"S 160°07'23.34"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 4
text source : 1
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