Australian authorities have boarded the Coral Adventurer cruise ship more than 10 days after the tragic death of 80-year-old passenger Suzanne Rees, who was left behind on a remote island after a group excursion.
Ms. Rees, a Sydney resident and avid bushwalker, had joined other passengers for a hike on Lizard Island, also known by its Indigenous names Jiigurru or Dyiigurra, during the first leg of the 60-day voyage around Australia. She reportedly stopped to rest and was left unaccompanied, only for the ship to depart without her. It wasn’t until several hours later that the crew realised she was missing and returned to the island.
On Wednesday morning, officials from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) boarded the vessel as part of a joint investigation involving Queensland Police and the state coroner. AMSA confirmed to the BBC that it could not comment while the inquiry was ongoing.
The Coral Adventurer cruise, operated by Cairns-based Coral Expeditions, was cancelled following the incident and due to additional mechanical problems. The vessel had initially departed Cairns on 24 October after a week-long delay caused by those same issues.
After the tragedy, passengers were disembarked at Horn Island and flown to the mainland via chartered aircraft. Tracking data later showed one of the ship’s tenders shuttling between the anchored vessel and the shore near Yorkey’s Knob, north of Cairns, on Tuesday night.
In a statement, Ms. Rees’s daughter, Katherine, expressed her family’s anguish and frustration, describing the situation as a “failure of care and common sense.”
“We are shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum,” she said. “From what we’ve been told, it seems she was asked to descend the hill unescorted after feeling unwell, and the ship left without conducting a passenger count.”
Katherine added that the family hopes the coroner’s inquiry will identify exactly what went wrong and determine what the company “should have done that might have saved mum’s life.”
According to police accounts shared with the family, it was a particularly hot day on the island, and Ms. Rees is believed to have fallen ill while hiking. Her body was discovered the day after an initial search and rescue effort failed to locate her.
Mark Fifield, CEO of Coral Expeditions, issued a public apology, saying the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred” and that it was fully cooperating with authorities.
“We are working closely with Queensland Police and other agencies to support their investigation,” Mr. Fifield said, adding that the firm had offered support to Ms. Rees’s family.
The Coral Adventurer, which can host up to 120 guests and 46 crew members, was purpose-built to explore remote coastal destinations. Its reputation for accessing hard-to-reach locations now stands clouded by the tragedy, one that raises serious questions about safety protocols, passenger accountability, and duty of care in adventure cruising.
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