Discoverer

In September, Silversea Cruises (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 800/722-9955, www.silversea.com) purchased the 6,072-ton expedition ship World Discoverer from Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore. 

The ship began life in 1989 as Delfin Cruise Lines’ Delfin Clipper, cruising between Turku and Tallinn. In 2002, Society Expeditions purchased it and named it World Discoverer after another vessel the company lost when it ran aground on an uncharted coral reef off the Solomon Islands in 2000. When financial problems caused Society Expeditions to cease operations in 2004, the Discoverer was repossessed by Sembawang. 

Silversea plans to renovate and rename the vessel, beginning service in spring 2008. It has a strengthened hull and can navigate the Antarctic.