🔗 Share this article

An extensive 60-day voyage circling the Australian Coast has been cancelled days after the fatal incident of an elderly woman who was stranded by the vessel on a remote coastal location.

The passenger had been hiking on the remote island with other travelers from the cruise ship, but separated from the party for a break. The ship left without her and returned after some time after the crew discovered the lady was unaccounted for.

A major search operation located her body the subsequent day.

Investigative bodies are investigating the event, together with investigators and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the voyage organizer stated that guests and staff on the vessel were informed that the remainder of the voyage had been cancelled due to the "tragic passing and previous engine troubles".

Through an announcement, he further stated that passengers would be issued a full refund, and said the organization was working "to organize the travel back of the individuals via chartered flights".

Regulatory bodies also released an latest communication, and said they had "provided a order to the Captain" preventing any new passengers from boarding the vessel.

The representative said that they would inspect the liner in Cairns upon its return.

Chronology of Incidents

The vessel first departed Cairns on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the expedition at the moment of the 80-year-old's demise. The remote island was the first stop on the voyage.

Travelers on board - who usually pay tens of thousands of money to participate in the voyage - were transported there for a daily excursion with the option of walking or snorkeling.

Next of Kin Statement

The daughter of the victim said that her relatives was "surprised and grieved that the vessel left Lizard Island after an organised outing without my mother".

In her statement, she described her parent as an "vigorous elderly person" who was a participant of a walking organization.

"Based on limited facts we have been told, it appears that there was a failure of attention and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She continued that she hoped the investigation would be able to identify what "the company should have undertaken that might have protected Mum's life".

"Based on information from the investigators that it was a exceptionally warm period, and she fell ill on the mountain ascent," she revealed.

"She was asked her to head down, alone. Then the vessel departed, reportedly without doing a headcount.

"At a certain moment in that chain of events, or soon after, mother succumbed, without company."

Organization Reaction

Through an announcement, the Head verified that the organization was "cooperating fully with officials to assist their examination".

He said that the organization was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had extended its full support to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Standards

The vessel serves up to a hundred twenty guests with nearly fifty personnel, according to company information. It was purpose-built to access distant areas of Australia's shoreline and is fitted with "tenders" - minor craft used to transport passengers on day excursions.

Incidents such as this are infrequent, and passenger vessels have procedures to record which individuals are embarking or disembarking, according to travel authorities.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] aboard simply isn't an option," one expert remarked.

Cruise lines consider these methods very seriously and have "sophisticated systems in place to prevent such events from taking place," the specialist continued.

"This seems to be most likely a stunning - and tragic - one-off."