At Sea with Doug Newman

Silversea Cruises has announced that it has purchased the 175-berth, 6,075 GT World Discoverer from its owners, Sembawang Shipyard. Built in 1989 as Delfin Clipper and later in service as a cruise ship, gambling ship and corporate yacht as Sally Clipper, Baltic Clipper, Delfin Star and Dream 21, the ship was purchased by now-defunct Society Expeditions in 2001 as a replacement for the original, 1974-built World Discoverer, which sank in the Solomon Islands in 2000. Following a major refit, the “new” World Discoverer entered service with Society Expeditions in 2002. After an embarrassing incident in which the ship was briefly repossessed in Alaska in 2003, Society finally ceased operations in 2004 and the ship was repossessed by Sembawang, which had handled the ship’s conversion and later underwrote the mortgage in hopes of keeping the company afloat. Since then she has been laid up in Singapore for sale, but was unable to find a buyer until now.

According to Silversea, who took possession of the ship in Singapore on 17 September, she will undergo a major refurbishment before entering service in spring 2008. Silversea president Amerigo Perasso commented:

“[T]he refurbishment will extend to virtually every area of the ship.  Although we will maintain much of the vessel’s current configuration, which features all ocean-view accommodations, we will dramatically enhance and redesign a number of public spaces, as well as some of the accommodations, and even some aspects of the ship’s external appearance.  This will bring World Discoverer in line with our usual high standards, but with some modifications to better adapt the ship for the special needs of expedition cruises.”

Modifications already announced will include reducing the ship’s capacity from 175 to 140 berths with the introduction of several new, larger suites; the introduction of the latest Internet and mobile phone access technology; a specialty restaurant; a cigar lounge similar to The Humidor on the other Silversea ships; flat-panel televisions in all cabins and the latest audio-visual equipment in the ship’s lounges.

Silversea said it will release more information - including the ship’s new name - in the next few weeks, “when all the elements of the project will be finalized”.

UPDATE: Click here for a press release from Silversea.