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A two-month journey around Australia is being halted in the wake of the death of an senior female passenger who was abandoned by the ship on a distant island.

Suzanne Rees had been trekking on the tropical location with other travelers from the vessel, but broke off from the excursion for a break. The ship sailed away leaving her and went back after some time after the personnel discovered the lady was missing.

A major search operation found her body the next day.

Investigative bodies are looking into the tragedy, together with police and the official investigator.

Chief Executive of the cruise operator said that guests and staff on the ship were informed that the rest of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "unfortunate death and earlier technical problems".

Through an announcement, he added that guests would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the organization was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights".

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

The representative said that they would inspect the liner in the port city upon its arrival.

Sequence of Incidents

The liner initially left Cairns on October 24th, and was just two days into the voyage at the point of the 80-year-old's passing. Lizard Island was the first stop on the journey.

Travelers on the ship - who typically pay large sums of currency to participate in the voyage - were transported there for a day trip with the choice of hiking or underwater exploration.

Family Reaction

The daughter of the deceased woman said that her loved ones was "stunned and grieved that the ship left the island after an scheduled excursion without my parent".

Via her announcement, she described her mum as an "vigorous octogenarian" who was a participant 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 further stated that she wished the investigation would be able to identify what "the company should have undertaken that might have protected Mum's life".

"We understand from the investigators that it was a extremely warm afternoon, and mother fell ill on the hill climb," she revealed.

"They requested her to head down, alone. Then the vessel sailed away, seemingly without doing a headcount.

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

Company Response

Through an announcement, the CEO affirmed that the company was "cooperating fully with investigators to assist their examination".

He stated that the company was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had provided its complete assistance to the family.

Maritime Business Standards

The vessel accommodates up to a hundred twenty guests with forty-six personnel, according to corporate information. It was specifically designed to access isolated locations of the nation's shoreline and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - small boats used to take passengers on land visits.

Events of this nature are uncommon, and liners have procedures to document which passengers are getting on or leaving, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] onboard just isn't an option," a specialist stated.

Vessel operators consider these procedures extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to stop such occurrences from happening," the expert continued.

"This is presumably a surprising - and tragic - one-off."