THE eerie wreck of an abandoned cruise ship has been left to rot on a tourist beach in a tropical paradise.
MS World Discoverer is a half-sunken ocean liner which sits, tipped to one side, in Roderick Bay in the Solomon Islands.
ShutterstockMS World Discoverer is a half-sunken ocean liner which sits in the Solomon Islands[/caption]
ShutterstockA fateful date with an uncharted reef ended its seafaring career for good[/caption]
The vessel was originally built by Schichau Unterweser in Germany in 1974 and was able to navigate the Northwest Passage.
It was first sold to the Danish company BEWA Cruises and then two years later to Adventure Cruises Inc.
In 1990 the ship was registered in Liberia and six years later underwent a complete refurbishment.
The globetrotting cruise ship featured an observation lounge, a library, a sun deck with a swimming pool and a small fitness centre.
Measuring 287ft (87m) in length, it was able to carry nearly 140 passengers.
But a fateful date on April 30, 2000, with an uncharted reef ended its seafaring career for good.
The ship began to list and captain Oliver Kruess had no choice but to ground her in the beautiful Sandfly passage of the Nggela Islands.
British passenger David Wright described the moment the ship was brought into Roderick Bay.
“It was just rammed into the beach, breaking trees in the forest, which stretches down to the shore,” he told The Herald.
“It was quite spectacular. And when we reached the beach, we could see a tree hanging from the prow of the ship.”
Everyone on board was safely evacuated, but the ship has since been been left to rust and slowly crumble into the ocean.
Several salvage companies have made attempts to retrieve the ship, but to no avail.
The ship has become a popular tourist attraction for both locals and those who visit the Solomon Islands.
ShutterstockThe ship began to list and captain Oliver Kruess had no choice but to ground her[/caption]
ShutterstockThe ship has since become a popular tourist attraction[/caption]
