The Coral Adventurer’s (IMO 9838644) 60-day cruise around Australia has been cancelled days after the death of an elderly female passenger who was accidentally left behind by the ship on the remote Lizard island, 155 miles north of Cairns, the vessel’s base.
The bespoke ship, which is about the size of a super-luxury yacht, had anchored off Lizard Island on October 25th, and some passages took a tender to hike and snorkel on the resort island. Suzanne Rees, 80, was one of a group that was heading for island’s highest peak, Cook’s Look.
According to investigations the deceased woman was believed to have fallen ill during the climb, and was asked to head back down, unescorted. The group continued on and boarded the vessel before realizing she was not there. According to reports there were headcounts for snorkellers, but not for the other guests on the island.
For some reason it was not noticed that she was missing, and the ship left without her. It returned several hours later when the crew realized she was missing. A major search operation was begun and her body was found the following morning, 50 metres off the side of the hiking trail.
Ms Rees’s daughter told local media that “We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the hill climb. 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”.
The day-trip for passengers to the island from the 2019-built, 93.4 metres long vessel ended at about sunset.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is investigating the accident, alongside Queensland Police and the state coroner. AMSA released an updated statement on Saturday saying it had “issued a notice to the Master of Coral Adventurer” prohibiting any new passengers from boarding the ship.
The spokesperson said that officials would attend the vessel in Cairns upon its return.
The crew of the Coral Adventurer only realized that Ms Rees was missing when she did not turn up to dinner on time. She was reported missing at 22:00 local time on Saturday October 25th, five hours after the vessel left Lizard Island. The crew initially believed the solo traveller might have fallen overboard.
The ship alerted AMSA’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC).
The Australian authorities are investigating whether the woman could have been saved.
Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifield said staff had contacted the woman’s family and were offering support over the “tragic death”. ”While investigations into the incident are continuing, we are deeply sorry that this has occurred and are offering our full support to the woman’s family,” Mr Fifield said. “We are working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation. We are unable to comment further while this process is under way”.
The Coral Adventurer, which caters for up to 120 guests and which has 46 crew, was on the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia. It was purpose-built to access remote areas of Australia’s coast and is equipped with tenders to take passengers on day excursions.
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”. He said that passengers would be issued a full refund, and that Coral Expeditions was working “to co-ordinate the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights”.
2019-built, Australia-flagged, 5,516 gt Coral Adventurer is owned by CPC Marine Pty Ltd care of Coral Princess Cruises of Cairns, Northern Territory, Australia. It is entered with Shipowners’ Club on behalf of Coral Princess Cruises Pty (trading as Coral Expeditions). As of November 1st it was in the Arafura Sea, heading back to port.