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One 60-day voyage circling the Australian Coast has been cancelled following the fatal incident of an elderly woman who was stranded by the ship on a remote island.

Suzanne Rees had been walking on the tropical location with shipmates from the vessel, but broke off from the party for a rest. The vessel sailed away leaving her and went back several hours later after the personnel realised the lady was missing.

A major rescue mission discovered her body the following day.

Officials are investigating the event, in coordination with police and the medical examiner.

Chief Executive of the shipping company announced that travelers and crew on the Coral Adventurer were informed that the continuation of the voyage had been cancelled due to the "tragic passing and previous mechanical issues".

Via official communication, he mentioned that passengers would be given a total repayment, and said the operator was working "to arrange the travel back of the individuals via chartered flights".

Officials also issued an latest statement, and said they had "issued a notice to the Master" banning any new passengers from entering the liner.

The spokesperson said that they would visit the vessel in the port city upon its coming back.

Sequence of Events

The ship initially left the coastal city on 24 October, and was only 48 hours into the journey at the moment of the senior passenger's death. Lizard Island was the opening port on the voyage.

Travelers on the ship - who usually pay tens of thousands of money to join the expedition - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the possibility of trekking or snorkelling.

Relatives Reaction

The offspring of the deceased woman said that her family was "stunned and saddened that the vessel left the island after an organised excursion without my mother".

Through her comments, she characterized her parent as an "vigorous 80-year-old" who was a member of a bushwalking club.

"From the little details we have been provided, it looks that there was a lapse of responsibility and basic judgment," she said.

She continued that she hoped the inquiry would be able to pinpoint what "the company should have performed that might have saved Her existence".

"According to reports from the authorities that it was a exceptionally warm day, and mum fell ill on the mountain ascent," she stated.

"Officials suggested her to head down, unescorted. Then the vessel left, apparently without doing a roll call.

"At a certain moment in that process, or shortly after, she died, without company."

Organization Reaction

Through an announcement, the Chief Executive confirmed that the organization was "working closely with authorities to aid their inquiry".

He said that the firm was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had offered its total backing to the family.

Maritime Business Procedures

The liner accommodates up to 120 passengers with nearly fifty staff, according to company information. It was specifically designed to enter distant locations of Australia's coastline and is equipped with "small boats" - compact vessels used to ferry travelers on day excursions.

Incidents like this are infrequent, and cruise ships have protocols to document which passengers are boarding or getting off, according to travel authorities.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] on the ship just isn't an option," one expert remarked.

Shipping companies consider these procedures with great importance and have "sophisticated systems in place to stop such events from occurring," the expert added.

"This seems to be presumably a surprising - and sad - isolated incident."