Silversea Buys Ship with Plans to Sail the Galapagos Islands

Luxury Silversea Cruises, which already offers expeditions to the polar regions, will add the Galapagos Islands to its list of destinations with the acquisition of an Ecuadorian tourism company and ship. The Silversea Group, a privately held company with headquarters in Monaco, said Monday that it bought Guayaquil-based tourism company Canodros S.A. and its ship, Galapagos Explorer II. The cruise operator, with U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, would not reveal financial information about the deal. The 100-passenger Galapagos ship will get a major overhaul in September 2013, after which it will be renamed. In the meantime, it will continue sailing its planned cruises under the operation of Canodros. Itinerary information beyond 2012 was not available, a spokeswoman said. With six ships that can accommodate between 132 and 540 passengers, Silversea offers cruises to more than 450 destinations — but none of those itineraries included the Galapagos.