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A 60-day journey around Australia was terminated following the tragic passing of an elderly woman who was stranded by the cruise liner on a isolated island.

Suzanne Rees had been trekking on Lizard Island with other travelers from the cruise ship, but broke off from the group for a rest. The vessel departed without her and went back several hours later after the ship staff discovered the lady was missing.

A large-scale search operation found her remains the following day.

Investigative bodies are examining the tragedy, alongside law enforcement and the official investigator.

Head of the voyage organizer said that guests and staff on the ship were informed that the continuation of the cruise had been terminated due to the "sad loss and earlier technical problems".

Through an announcement, he further stated that travelers would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the organization was working "to organize the travel back of the passengers via chartered flights".

Regulatory bodies also issued an latest communication, and said they had "delivered a notice to the Commander" banning any additional guests from entering the ship.

The spokesperson said that they would inspect the liner in Cairns upon its coming back.

Timeline of Occurrences

The vessel originally sailed from Cairns on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the expedition at the moment of the elderly woman's demise. The remote island was the first stop on the voyage.

Guests on board - who typically pay substantial amounts of currency to join the expedition - were ferried there for a day trip with the possibility of walking or snorkelling.

Family Reaction

The child of the deceased woman said that her relatives was "shocked and grieved that the ship left Lizard Island after an scheduled outing without my mother".

Via her announcement, she characterized her mum as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a member of a bushwalking organization.

"According to scant facts we have been provided, it seems that there was a lapse of responsibility and common sense," she said.

She added that she hoped the investigation would be able to identify what "the organization should have performed that might have saved Mum's existence".

"We understand from the investigators that it was a extremely warm period, and mum took sick on the hill climb," she explained.

"Officials suggested her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the boat left, apparently without doing a roll call.

"During some point in that chain of events, or not long after, mum passed away, alone."

Operator Reaction

In a statement, the Head confirmed that the organization was "collaborating extensively with officials to aid their examination".

He mentioned that the firm was "extremely apologetic that this has happened" and had extended its complete assistance to the family.

Shipping Sector Standards

The liner serves up to a hundred twenty travelers with 46 staff, according to company details. It was specially constructed to reach remote areas of Australia's coast and is fitted with "tenders" - minor craft used to take passengers on day excursions.

Occurrences like this are uncommon, and passenger vessels have protocols to document which individuals are embarking or leaving, according to maritime specialists.

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

Shipping companies regard these methods extremely carefully and have "advanced technology in place to stop such events from taking place," the specialist further stated.

"This appears to be probably a surprising - and tragic - isolated incident."