YorksPast

For weeks, what happened to the World Discoverer has been an often-posed question, ever since Jim McClure shared the image of the overgrown ship on Retro York from the international photo gallery VIBE Facebook group. Questions have been coming my way, because I’ve presented and wrote about a 1994 cruise I took on the M/S World Discoverer from Hawaii to Tahiti.

What is the M/S World Discoverer

The 1994 cruise brochure describes the M/S World Discoverer as a true expedition vessel, built exclusively for adventure travel. The small size and great maneuverability provide a means of access to secluded areas of natural beauty bigger ships could never consider. The lifestyle on board is casual and unregimented. Through-provoking programs enhance the enjoyment and understanding of the places visited. The Captain and his officers maintain an open bridge where passengers are always welcome to observe and ask questions.

M/S World Discoverer background via the 1994 Voyage

Cruises on the 138-passenger M/S World Discoverer were billed as voyages of discovery and adventure. In 20 years of small ship expedition service, the ship had become legend with an impressive history of firsts. To add to that list, the 1994 Pacific Ocean voyage included several islands of which our cruise ship would be the first to ever visit.

The first island lived up to the discovery and adventure billing; it was Palmyra Island, encountered 1,112-miles south of Hawaii. At the time, a family in Hawaii owned this island and the only inhabitant was a caretaker that they had living there. However, during World War II, the United States built a runway on the coral reef; a refueling stop for planes being ferried across the Pacific.

The owner of island had the channel into the lagoon and the dock area dredged, in anticipation of the first cruise ship to visit the island. The captain eased the ship alongside what was left of an old WWII pier. Lines were fastened around the wharf’s aging bollards, however it became quickly evident that they were unfit to hold the ship. Hastily the crew wrapped lines around a couple of nearby palm trees, which held.

The Pacific Ocean expedition cruise on the M/S World Discoverer stretched from September 10 to 26, 1994. It began in Honolulu, Hawaii, then proceeded south through the Line Island: Palmyra, Fanning, and Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere; followed by: Malden, Starbuck, Vostok, Caroline and Flint in the Southern Hemisphere. The Tuamotu Archipelago island of Matalva was then visited prior to the Society Islands: Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti.

The expedition staff of six, led by Susan Adie, was augmented with a large group of expedition specialists and lecturers: marine biologists Jack Grove and Charlie Wheatley; ornithologists Phillip Bruner and Rich Paul; naturalists Brent Houston and John Kernan; archaeologist and historian Edmundo Edwards; biologist and divemaster Wolfgang Fischer.

What happened to the M/S World Discoverer in 2000

M/S World Discoverer has been grounded in Roderick Bay of Solomon Islands since April 30, 2000; after striking an uncharted reef in Sandfly Passage. The captain grounded the ship, after it began to list 20 degrees, to avoid sinking.

The recent queries about the M/S World Discoverer stemmed from the May 2019 photo of the overgrown ship appearing on Facebook groups, including Retro York. Inquiries of me ranged from providing more details of what the passengers went through on April 30, 2000, since the Wikipedia page for the ship included little in that respect, to exploring that the beached ship seems to now be a significant tourist attraction in the Solomon Islands.

Several of the passengers on the ill-fated South Pacific cruise in 2000 had articles published about their experience in their local newspapers shortly after they returned home. Via Newspapers.com I’ve used those sources to augment what has been written on Wikipedia.

On April 19, 2000, the M/S World Discoverer set off on a cruise from Fiji, then island-hopping through the Fiji Islands, and up through the Solomon Islands, with planned next stops in New Guinea prior to disembarking in Guam. The 200-foot ship carried 97 passengers and a staff and crew of 80.

About half way through the 19-day cruise, the M/S World Discoverer left Santa Ana in the Solomon Islands and headed for Guadalcanal. On the way, in Sandfly Passage, an uncharted reef was struck at 3:30 p.m. on April 30th. Immediately after the initial jolt, the captain had all passengers get their life jackets on and report to their appointed muster stations. After they were at their stations, he told all to sit down, as he was going to back off the reef in an attempt to correct the ship’s leaning to the right side.

That maneuver caused a ‘rrrrip’ noise and the ship began to list more. The captain reported they had taken on water in one sealed off compartment and that the ship was stable. However to be on the safe side, he ordered passengers to board the four lifeboats, two suspended from each side of the ship. However the listing of the ship caused difficulties in getting all the lifeboats down.

The M/S World Discoverer was about 300 yards from Ngella island in the Florida Islands chain of the Solomon Islands, just north of Guadalcanal. In the remaining lifeboats, the passengers, then the crew and some provisions, were shuttled to a white, sandy beach. The ship continued to list more past 20 degrees, so while the ship could still maneuver, the captain and two crewmen grounded the ship nearby in Roderick Bay to prevent it from sinking.

The cook set up a kitchen in an old palm shack and crew served passengers sandwiches, fruit and drinks from crates of provisions brought from the ship. Other crew went back on board the grounded ship and packed passenger’s belongings in cabins that were still above water. The passengers were told that a ferryboat would arrive about 7:00 p.m. to take them to Guadalcanal where rooms would be provided.

However the large ferry did not arrive until 9:30 p.m. As night fell, flashlights and a searchlight that was directed onto the island from the ship cut the darkness. The ferry left at midnight and got to Honiara on Guadalcanal about 2:30 a.m. on May 1st.

After a short rest in Honiara, passengers were flown to Brisbane and Sidney, Australia, prior to flights home. Passengers reported two weeks later they received a check from Society Expeditions reimbursing them for the entire expense of the trip.

Efforts to Repair and Salvage the M/S World Discoverer

Several repair and salvage efforts were made on the M/S World Discoverer as it lay grounded in Roderick Bay of the Solomon Islands. The following photo may show the last effort, late in 2000, when progress was being made; however that effort was abandoned when attacks on the salvage crew intensified after a civil war expanded to that island in September.

During the civil war the M/S World Discoverer was ransacked by Solomon islanders, in which everything useable was removed from the ship. Fixtures, wiring, piping, cabinets, equipment, and even glass in the all windows were looted. The insurance company declared the ship a constructive total loss.

Society Expeditions, the last operator of the grounded M/S World Discoverer, purchased a replacement ship and named it World Discoverer. However Society Expeditions never fully recovered financially and filed for bankruptcy after creditors seized the replacement vessel in 2004. With the bankruptcy, the grounded M/S World Discoverer became an abandoned vessel with no owner.

Wrecked M/S World Discoverer as a Tourist Attraction

Following the civil war, locals began offering unauthorized tours of the half-sunken ship. A local family constructed several Roderick Bay Beach Bungalows, catering to tourists wanting to explore the wreck.

This Google satellite image shows the M/S World Discoverer grounded on the shallow bottom of Roderick Bay in the Solomon Islands. The light blue water indicates a shallow depth of a few feet, with the darker blue water much deeper.

Two readers asked if there were any underwater photos of the M/S World Discoverer wreck. I did one better when several YouTube videos were discovered. The best one is at the following link, between the 6:00 and 10:00 minute marks. It also contains conversations with locals.

The following 2024 view is from the smokestack to the bow, past the top decks and observation tower, on the grounded M/S World Discoverer in Roderick Bay. In the upper left is one of several Roderick Bay Beach Bungalows, catering to tourists. As tourists increasingly want to climb around the ship, the locals have started to remove vegetation that had grown on it. From the photo, it appears the ship is now listing at about 45 degrees.

Since 2022, large cruise ships often include Roderick Bay as a stop when cruising the Solomon Islands. Where the grounded M/S World Discoverer has become a featured tourist attraction. Shown route is for Ponant’s 2026 voyage of Le Soleal; which is their 264-guest cruise ship. On that cruise, which is already nearly fully booked, the plan is to spend the whole day on February 28, 2026 at the wrecked M/S World Discoverer.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

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