What Happened to the Cruise Ship World Discoverer?

By Anna Duncan

The cruise ship World Discoverer was a cruise ship built in 1969, owned by the German industrialist Alexander Patjens. The vessel was originally built to be an icebreaker for the German navy, but was later converted into a passenger ship and used for adventure cruises in Far East Asia.

It had an overall length of 119 meters and weighed 7,250 tons.

The World Discoverer began its journey as a cruise ship in the late 1980’s and quickly gained popularity among adventurers due to its unique design and ability to explore places that other vessels could not reach. It offered travelers a chance to explore some of the world’s most remote destinations including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands.

In April 2000, the World Discoverer encountered a large storm near the Solomon Islands which caused significant damage to the vessel. The storm caused flooding in several of its cabins and damaged some of its engines. As a result, the vessel had to be towed back to port for repairs.

Repairs were made but due to safety concerns and increasing maintenance costs, it was decided that it would be more cost effective to retire the vessel permanently instead of repairing it further. In July 2000, after 31 years of service as both an icebreaker and cruise ship, the World Discoverer was sold off for scrap metal.

Conclusion:

The Cruise Ship World Discoverer had been providing adventurers with unique cruise experiences since 1989 until it encountered a major storm near Solomon Islands in 2000 that caused significant damages to it. Its repairs were too costly so it eventually got sold off for scrap metal in July 2000, ending its 31 years’ long service as both an icebreaker and cruise ship.