Explorer was commissioned by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish-American pioneer of exotic expedition tours, and built in 1969 at Uudenkaupungin Telakka shipyard in Uusikaupunki, Finland.
The ship was built to stay afloat with two compartments filled with water.
Her original Finnish-Swedish ice class was 1C, which is relatively weak.
It is not known when the ice class was uprated to 1A.
The vessel was originally named Lindblad Explorer after Lars-Eric Lindblad and was the first custom built expeditionary cruise ship.
On 11 February 1972 Explorer ran aground near La Plaza Point, Antarctica; her passengers, Lars-Eric Lindblad among them, were rescued by the Chilean Navy.
She was towed to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then to Kristiansand, Norway, for repairs.

On 25 December 1979, Lindblad Explorer ran aground off Wiencke Island in the Antarctic.
The 70 passengers and 34 of the crew were rescued by the Chilean Navy Antarctic transport Pioto Pardo, leaving the captain and a skeleton crew of 21 on board to await the arrival of a tug.

In 1984, Explorer was the first cruise ship to navigate the Northwest Passage.
In 1989 she was involved in the rescue of the crew of an Argentine supply ship that had hit a rock ledge off Anvers Island, Antarctica.

In 1998, Explorer was the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island; and the same year, she is claimed to have been the first ship, as distinct from river boat, to sail 80 miles (130 km) above Iquitos, Peru, to the point where the Marañón and Ucayali rivers meet to become the Amazon River.

Explorer was depicted on at least two postage stamps issued by South Georgia and one issued by the Falkland Islands.
Explorer was nicknamed "the Little Red Ship".
Explorer was commissioned by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish-American pioneer of exotic expedition tours, and built in 1969 at Uudenkaupungin Telakka shipyard in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The ship was built to stay afloat with two compartments filled with water. Her original Finnish-Swedish ice class was 1C, which is relatively weak. It is not known when the ice class was uprated to 1A.
The vessel was originally named Lindblad Explorer after Lars-Eric Lindblad and was the first custom built expeditionary cruise ship. On 11 February 1972 Explorer ran aground near La Plaza Point, Antarctica; her passengers, Lars-Eric Lindblad among them, were rescued by the Chilean Navy. She was towed to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then to Kristiansand, Norway, for repairs.
On 25 December 1979, Lindblad Explorer ran aground off Wiencke Island in the Antarctic. The 70 passengers and 34 of the crew were rescued by the Chilean Navy Antarctic transport Pioto Pardo, leaving the captain and a skeleton crew of 21 on board to await the arrival of a tug.
In 1984, Explorer was the first cruise ship to navigate the Northwest Passage. In 1989 she was involved in the rescue of the crew of an Argentine supply ship that had hit a rock ledge off Anvers Island, Antarctica.
In 1998, Explorer was the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island; and the same year, she is claimed to have been the first ship, as distinct from river boat, to sail 80 miles (130 km) above Iquitos, Peru, to the point where the Marañón and Ucayali rivers meet to become the Amazon River.
Explorer was depicted on at least two postage stamps issued by South Georgia and one issued by the Falkland Islands. Explorer was nicknamed "the Little Red Ship".
MV Explorer (1969)