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One two-month voyage through the Australian Coast was terminated days after the death of an elderly female passenger who was stranded by the ship on a isolated coastal location.

The passenger had been trekking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the cruise ship, but separated from the party for a rest. The vessel left without her and returned later that day after the personnel realised the woman was missing.

An extensive search operation located her remains the next day.

Officials are investigating the incident, together with police and the state coroner.

Head of the cruise operator stated that passengers and personnel on the Coral Adventurer were notified that the rest of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "unfortunate death and previous technical problems".

Via official communication, he added that guests would be issued a full refund, and said the company was working "to organize the travel back of the passengers via specially arranged planes".

Regulatory bodies also issued an latest statement, and said they had "delivered a notice to the Captain" preventing any further travelers from getting on the vessel.

The representative said that they would visit the ship in the Australian city upon its arrival.

Chronology of Incidents

The vessel originally sailed from the Australian port on 24 October, and was only 48 hours into the journey at the time of the 80-year-old's passing. Lizard Island was the first stop on the voyage.

Travelers on the vessel - who generally pay substantial amounts of dollars to take part in the expedition - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the choice of trekking or snorkelling.

Next of Kin Reaction

The daughter of the victim said that her family was "surprised and distressed that the ship left the location after an planned tour without my parent".

Via her announcement, she portrayed her mum as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a affiliate of a bushwalking group.

"From the little information we have been told, it appears that there was a failure of attention and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She added that she hoped the investigation would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's life".

"Based on information from the police that it was a very hot day, and mother fell ill on the uphill trek," she explained.

"They requested her to return, unescorted. Then the ship departed, seemingly without conducting a passenger count.

"At some stage in that sequence, or not long after, mother passed away, by herself."

Company Reaction

In a statement, the Chief Executive verified that the company was "collaborating extensively with officials to aid their inquiry".

He said that the firm was "very regretful that this has occurred" and had offered its full support to the family.

Shipping Sector Standards

The vessel serves up to 120 travelers with 46 staff, according to corporate data. It was purpose-built to reach isolated locations of Australia's coast and is equipped with "tenders" - minor craft used to transport travelers on day excursions.

Occurrences of this nature are rare, and liners have systems to record which passengers are boarding or getting off, according to travel authorities.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] aboard just isn't an choice," a specialist commented.

Vessel operators take these methods extremely carefully and have "clever tech in place to avoid such events from taking place," the specialist added.

"This is probably a shocking - and unfortunate - one-off."