Ownership of the vessel changed several times, the last owner being the Toronto-based travel company G.A.P Adventures which acquired Explorer in 2004.

[1][7] Explorer was abandoned in the early hours of 23 November 2007 after taking on water near the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean, an area which is usually stormy but was calm at the time.

[8] Explorer was confirmed by the Chilean Navy to have sunk at an approximate position of 62°24′S 57°16′W / 62.400°S 57.267°W / -62.400; -57.267, between the South Shetlands and Grahams Land in the Bransfield Strait;[9] where the depth is roughly 600 m.[10] The Royal Navy Antarctic Patrol Ship Endurance, whilst carrying out a hydrographic survey for the British Antarctic Survey and at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, later pinpointed Explorer's final resting place as 62°24′17.57″S 57°11′46.49″W / 62.4048806°S 57.1962472°W / -62.4048806; -57.1962472, at an approximate depth of 1,130 metres (3,710 ft) – a distance of 4,373 m (14,347 ft) from her reported sinking position.

[11] Explorer was commissioned by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish-American pioneer of "exotic expedition" tours, and built in 1969 at Uudenkaupungin Telakka,[12] a shipyard in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

The first notable incident of the Explorer was when it ran aground near La Plaza Point, Antarctica, on 11 February 1972; her passengers, Lindblad among them, were rescued by the Chilean Navy.

She was involved in the rescue of the crew of an Argentine supply ship in 1989 that had hit a rock ledge off Anvers Island, Antarctica.

[4] The official report of the sinking noted: "The damage sustained had to have extended along the length of the vessel from Cabins 308 to 314 for at least a distance of 3.6 meters, and, in all likelihood, had punctured and sliced holes along the shell plating.

[32] In an article published on 8 December 2007, experts considered that Explorer was "perfect for ice navigation", and stated that the explanation of the sinking "doesn't add up" and that "essential pieces of the story are missing".

[2] The report cites the decision by Captain Bengt Wiman,[34] age 49, to enter the ice field based on his knowledge and information available at the time as the primary reason why Explorer was so severely damaged.

[2] The report also found that, given that the GAP staff "served the function of crew members", they should have had "the required safety training and documents as seafarers".

[2] The report praises the performance of the master and crew in organizing and evacuating the passengers, and notes that lives were likely saved due to the actions of these individuals.