AFP via Getty ImagesA 60-day cruise around Australia has been cancelled days after the death of an elderly female passenger who was left behind by the ship on a remote island.
Suzanne Rees had been hiking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer, but broke off from the group for a rest. The ship left without her and returned several hours later after the crew realised the woman was missing
A major search operation found her body the following day.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) are investigating the incident, alongside Queensland Police and the state coroner.
The CEO of the cruise operator Coral Expeditions, Mark Fifield, said on Saturday that passengers and crew on the Coral Adventurer were told on Wednesday that the remainder of the voyage had been cancelled due to the “tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues”.
In a statement, he added that passengers would be issued a full refund, and said Coral Expeditions was working “to coordinate the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights”.
Amsa also released an updated statement on Saturday, and said it had “issued a notice to the Master of Coral Adventurer” prohibiting any new passengers from boarding the ship.
The spokesperson said that they would attend the vessel in Cairns upon its return.
The ship initially left Cairns on 24 October, and was just two days into the voyage at the time of the 80-year-old’s death. Lizard Island was the first stop on the journey.
Passengers on board – who typically pay tens of thousands of dollars to join the cruise – were transported there for a day trip with the option of hiking or snorkelling.
Suzanne Rees’ daughter, Katherine Rees, said on Thursday that her family was “shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum, Suzanne”.
In her statement, she described her mother as an “active 80-year-old” who was a member of a bushwalking group.
“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,” Ms Rees said.
She added that she hoped the coronial inquiry would be able to pinpoint what “the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life”.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the hill climb,” she said.
“She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count.
“At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone.”
In a statement earlier this week, Mr Fifield confirmed that Coral Expeditions was “working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation”.
He said that the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred” and had offered its full support to the Rees’ family.
The Coral Adventurer caters for up to 120 guests with 46 crew, according to the company’s website. It was purpose-built to access remote areas of Australia’s coast and is equipped with “tenders” – small boats used to take passengers on day excursions.
Incidents like this are rare, and cruise ships have systems to record which passengers are embarking or disembarking, Harriet Mallinson, cruise editor of travel website Sailawaze told the BBC.
“Sneaking ashore or [back] onboard just isn’t an option,” she said.
Cruise lines take these procedures very seriously and have “clever tech in place to prevent such incidents from happening,” Ms Mallinson added.
“This is most likely a shocking – and tragic – one-off.”
