One two-month cruise through the Australian Coast was terminated days after the tragic passing of an older woman who was left behind by the ship on a isolated tropical isle.
The passenger had been walking on Lizard Island with other travelers from the cruise ship, but separated from the excursion for a break. The vessel left without her and came back after some time after the ship staff realised the woman was unaccounted for.
A large-scale search operation discovered her remains the next day.
Officials are investigating the event, alongside law enforcement and the official investigator.
Chief Executive of the shipping company said that guests and personnel on the Coral Adventurer were told that the continuation of the journey had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and earlier technical problems".
In a statement, he mentioned that passengers would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the organization was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the travelers via specially arranged planes".
Regulatory bodies also published an latest statement, and said they had "issued a notice to the Commander" preventing any new passengers from boarding the liner.
The spokesperson said that they would inspect the ship in Cairns upon its coming back.
The vessel first departed the Australian port on October 24th, and was merely two days into the voyage at the point of the senior passenger's demise. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the itinerary.
Guests on the vessel - who usually pay substantial amounts of dollars to join the voyage - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the option of walking or snorkeling.
The child of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "surprised and grieved that the liner left the island after an organised excursion without my mother".
Through her comments, she described her mother as an "active 80-year-old" who was a member of a bushwalking organization.
"Based on limited details we have been provided, it appears that there was a failure of responsibility and ordinary reasoning," she said.
She further stated that she wished the investigation would be able to identify what "the company should have undertaken that might have protected Mother's existence".
"Based on information from the police that it was a extremely warm day, and she took sick on the uphill trek," she stated.
"She was asked her to go back, alone. Then the boat departed, reportedly without conducting a headcount.
"At some stage in that sequence, or soon after, mum died, without company."
Via official communication, the Chief Executive verified that the company was "working closely with authorities to assist their inquiry".
He mentioned that the company was "very regretful that this has happened" and had provided its total backing to the loved ones.
The vessel accommodates up to a hundred twenty guests with nearly fifty crew, according to company data. It was specially constructed to enter isolated regions of Australia's shoreline and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - minor craft used to take travelers on land visits.
Occurrences such as this are infrequent, and liners have systems to track which individuals are embarking or getting off, according to travel authorities.
"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard just isn't an choice," an authority commented.
Vessel operators consider these procedures with great importance and have "advanced technology in place to prevent such incidents from occurring," the specialist added.
"This seems to be probably a surprising - and sad - isolated incident."
