The Coral Adventurer has been boarded by investigators after returning to Cairns more than a week after one of its cruise passengers was left behind and died alone on a remote Great Barrier Reef island.
Suzanne Rees, 80, from Sydney, died after leaving her hiking group on Lizard Island during an excursion on day two of a planned 60-day luxury circumnavigation of Australia.
Her body was found on the island on Sunday 26 October, after a land and sea search was mounted when the ship’s crew realised she was not on board. According to satellite tracking data, the Coral Adventurer was about 100km away when it turned back for Rees.
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The ship docked at about 6pm on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Coral Expeditions said, and was boarded by representatives of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) on Wednesday morning. As of Wednesday afternoon, the ship remained anchored off the coast of Yorkeys Knob, the spokesperson said, as there were no available berths in the port of Cairns.
It is the first time the Coral Expeditions ship has made a mainland port call since the cruise began in Cairns on Friday 24 October.
Its first stop was at Lizard Island the next morning. Tracking data showed the ship left Lizard Island at 3.40pm on that day. Rees’ absence was noticed when she did not show up for dinner at about 6pm, with the ship turning round and heading back towards Lizard Island at 8.43pm.
Amsa was notified of the missing passenger at 9pm, initiating a response and assisting Queensland police in a land and sea search.
Rees’ daughter Katherine Rees said her “healthy” and “active” mother had fallen ill on a hike to the island’s historic Cook’s Look summit.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb,” she said on Thursday.
“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.”
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The cruise company ended the tour early, Coral Expeditions announced on Saturday, with all passengers flown home from the Torres Strait islands.
The company’s chief executive officer, Mark Fifield, said “following the tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues, the decision had been made to cancel the remainder of the voyage” and that passengers would receive a full refund.
Balcony rooms on the 120-guest cruise are priced at $86,400 a person, according to a listing on Clean Cruising.
Amsa, which is investigating the incident alongside police, the Queensland coroner and WorkSafe Queensland, confirmed it would “attend” the ship on its arrival in Cairns but remained tight lipped about the investigation and who would be interviewed.
Part of Amsa’s investigations would centre on why Rees may not have been accounted for during boarding, a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland said inquiries remained ongoing into Rees’ death. “These inquiries will include investigations relating to the cruise provider,” they said.
It declined to confirm whether any safety concerns had been reported to WorkSafe Queensland regarding Coral Expeditions vessels in the past year.
A spokesperson for Coral Expeditions said the company was cooperating with Amsa and the investigations under way.
Queensland police said a report would be prepared for the coroner on Rees’ death, which they described as non-suspicious.
“As the matter is currently before the coroner, we are unable to provide any further information,” police said.
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