Pictured: The eerie wreck of an abandoned cruise ship that lies just yards from a tourist beach in the tropical paradise of the Solomon Islands

Cruise ships often drop anchor in tropical idylls before moving on to their next destination – but this vessel isn’t leaving paradise anytime soon.

Incredible pictures show the huge wreck of the MS World Discoverer lying mere yards from a tourist beach in the Solomon Island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.

Measuring 287ft (87m) in length, the enormous abandoned vessel looks startlingly incongruous next to the rugged natural beauty of the forested shoreline.

She’s lain there for more than 20 years and during that time, she’s been reclaimed by nature – with greenery sprouting from her decks – and become an attraction for locals and tourists alike.

Tours can be arranged to visit the rusting wreck and a trio of over-water bungalows can be rented nearby, which offer front-row views of the ship’s immense form rising from turquoise waters. On social media, videos and photographs show tourists posing on the golden beach that leads out to the wreck.

This incredible picture shows the huge wreck of the MS World Discoverer cruise ship lying mere yards from a tourist beach in the Solomon Island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean

Measuring 287ft (87m) in length, the enormous abandoned vessel looks startlingly incongruous next to the rugged natural beauty of the forested shoreline

The cruise ship, which has lain in the same place for more than 20 years, has become an unlikely attraction for locals and tourists alike

The cruise ship’s story begins in 1974 when she was constructed in a German shipyard and sold to the first of several owners – the Danish company BEWA Cruises.

The vessel, which could carry nearly 140 passengers, featured an observation lounge, a library, a sun deck with a swimming pool and a small fitness centre.

She was built for voyages to the Antarctic polar regions, with dinghies on board that allowed passengers to disembark and explore the region’s ice floes, but also cruised around warmer climes.

On April 30, 2000, however, she struck an uncharted reef while sailing in the Solomon Islands’ Sandfly Passage. A distress signal was transmitted and passengers were all ferried safely to shore on lifeboats. 

Reclaimed by nature, the abandoned cruise ship now has greenery sprouting from her decks

The cruise ship’s story begins in 1974 when she was constructed in a German shipyard and sold to the first of several owners – the Danish company BEWA Cruises

The vessel, which could carry nearly 140 passengers, featured an observation lounge, a library, a sun deck with a swimming pool and a small fitness centre

She was built for voyages to the Antarctic polar regions, with dinghies on board that allowed passengers to disembark and explore the region’s ice floes

On April 30, 2000, the vessel struck an uncharted reef while sailing in the Solomon Islands’ Sandfly Passage

The ship’s captain brought the ship into Roderick Bay off the coast of Nggela Sule Island and grounded her there to prevent her sinking, as she had been heavily listing to one side.

David Wright, a British passenger on board the ship, recounted the moment the ship was grounded in an interview with The Herald newspaper, saying: ‘It was just rammed into the beach, breaking trees in the forest, which stretches down to the shore.

‘It was quite spectacular. And when we reached the beach, we could see a tree hanging from the prow of the ship.’

At the time, Michael Lomax, the president of ‘Society Expeditions’, the company that organised the ship’s voyages, praised the cruise staff who were on board, saying that they had performed in an ‘exemplary manner’ during the incident.

An attempt was made to salvage the ship, but it proved unsuccessful.

The ship’s captain brought the vessel into Roderick Bay off the coast of Nggela Sule Island and grounded her there to prevent her sinking, as she had been heavily listing to one side

David Wright, a British passenger on board the ship, recounted the moment the ship was grounded, saying: ‘It was just rammed into the beach’

After the ship was grounded, an attempt was made to salvage her, but it proved unsuccessful

Travellers are known to snorkel in the waters that surround the wreck and picnic on Roderick Bay 

Fast forward to today and travellers can get an hour-and-a-half transfer by boat from Honiara, the archipelago’s capital, for day trips to the bay, where they can snorkel around the wreck and picnic on the island.

Exploring the wreck itself is off limits, local magazine Fly Solomon reveals, though it notes that locals have rigged up a zipline from the top of the vessel to the shore.

Meanwhile, a night’s stay in one of the Roderick Bay Beach Bungalows, which are complete with one double bed and one single bed, is priced at just £35 (385 Solomon Islands dollars/46 U.S dollars).

Exploring the wreck itself is off limits, though locals have rigged up a zipline from the top of the vessel to the shore

Travellers can get an hour-and-a-half transfer by boat from Honiara, the archipelago’s capital, for day trips to the bay

Above is the MS World Discoverer anchored in South Georgia. Image courtesy of Creative Commons 

This picture shows the MS World Discoverer at port on the isle of Ua Pou, which lies in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. Image courtesy of Creative Commons 

This picture, thought to have been captured in the 1990s, shows the ship off the coast of Peru. Image courtesy of Creative Commons 

Instagram user Justin Jamieson described the view of the vessel from his bungalow as ‘both eerie and spectacular’.

While ‘xploradora80‘ described the ship as a ‘real sight to see’, adding: ‘The lagoon is stunning.’

It’s not the only shipwreck in the Solomon Islands archipelago – in fact, it’s estimated there are around 200 wrecks scattered off its shores, making it a mecca for divers and history buffs alike.

Many of the wrecks were the result of fierce combat between Allied and Japanese forces during World War II. Other notable sunken ships include the Japanese vessels Hirokawa Maru and Kinugawa Maru, which both lie in waters to the west of Honiara.

There are also hundreds of sunken WWII aircraft – including a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero long ranger fighter aircraft, an America Grumman F6F 3-Hellcat and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

It’s estimated there are around 200 wrecks scattered off the shores of the Solomon Islands. Many of the wrecks – such as the wreck of Japanese vessel Kinugawa Maru (above) – were the result of fierce combat between Allied and Japanese forces during World War II

There are hundreds of sunken WWII aircraft around the Solomon Islands. Above is the wreck of a Hellcat plane