SEATTLE -- Society Expeditions purchased the World Discoverer, the
expedition-style ship that it previously chartered from a holding
company -- and which was siezed last month by the U.K. bank that
financed the ship's mortgage.
Society's parent company, named Society Expeditions
International, purchased the ship for about $35 million and added
an additional infusion of capital that company president Michael
Lomax said will help overcome the ship's 2001 startup costs.
The ship,which was briefly tied up in Japan, is on its way back
to Nome, Ala., and will pick up its Aug. 4 cruise as planned, Lomax
said.