🔗 Share this article

A 60-day cruise circling the Australian Coast is being halted following the death of an senior woman who was stranded by the vessel on a distant coastal location.

Suzanne Rees had been walking on the remote island with other travelers from the vessel, but separated from the excursion for a rest. The vessel left without her and came back after some time after the personnel realised the woman was not present.

An extensive hunt located her body the subsequent day.

Authorities are looking into the event, together with law enforcement and the medical examiner.

Chief Executive of the shipping company stated that passengers and crew on the vessel were notified that the continuation of the cruise had been called off due to the "sad loss and earlier mechanical issues".

In a statement, he further stated that travelers would be given a full refund, and said the organization was working "to arrange the homeward trips of the passengers via private aircraft".

Authorities also issued an revised communication, and said they had "delivered a notice to the Commander" preventing any new passengers from getting on the ship.

The representative said that they would inspect the vessel in Cairns upon its arrival.

Timeline of Events

The ship originally sailed from Cairns on the 24th of October, and was only 48 hours into the journey at the moment of the elderly woman's death. The tropical location was the initial destination on the itinerary.

Travelers on the vessel - who generally pay tens of thousands of dollars to take part in the expedition - were ferried there for a day trip with the option of trekking or snorkeling.

Family Reaction

The daughter of the deceased woman said that her loved ones was "stunned and saddened that the liner left Lizard Island after an planned excursion without my parent".

In her statement, she characterized her mother as an "vigorous 80-year-old" who was a affiliate of a walking group.

"Based on limited facts we have been provided, it looks that there was a lapse of responsibility and ordinary reasoning," she stated.

She added that she hoped the investigation would be able to pinpoint what "the operator should have done that might have protected Her being".

"We understand from the police that it was a very hot afternoon, and mother became unwell on the hill climb," she stated.

"She was asked her to go back, unescorted. Then the vessel sailed away, apparently without doing a passenger count.

"At a certain moment in that process, or shortly after, she died, alone."

Company Response

Via official communication, the Head affirmed that the company was "working closely with authorities to aid their investigation".

He said that the company was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had provided its full support to the relatives.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The vessel caters for up to a hundred twenty passengers with 46 personnel, according to official details. It was specially constructed to enter distant areas of Australia's coast and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - compact vessels used to transport passengers on land visits.

Events such as this are infrequent, and cruise ships have systems to document which travelers are getting on or leaving, according to maritime specialists.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard just isn't an possibility," an authority remarked.

Vessel operators consider these methods extremely carefully and have "advanced technology in place to stop such incidents from taking place," the expert added.

"This seems to be presumably a shocking - and tragic - isolated incident."